Bulgarian nuclear reactor after breakdown from the network

Emergency shutdown after breakdowns in Bulgarian nuclear power plant

05/28/2012

In Bulgaria, an atomic accident occurred at the weekend. After a warning in the control center of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant on the Danube, a reactor block had to be taken off the grid. According to authorities, no radioactivity was released into the environment.

In the Bulgarian Kozloduy nuclear power plant one of two reactors has been shut down after a fault. A spokesman for the operator said that the „Thousand-megawatt reactor on Saturday night after a warning automatically disconnected from the mains“ has been. However, details of the exact circumstances of the disturbance were not made. It has one „technical problem of a turbogenerator“ Present, as it was said, but „already fixed in the meantime“.

No increased radiation exposure in the immediate vicinity
An exit of radioactivity is negated by the nuclear power plant operator. Measurements in the immediate vicinity would not have resulted in increased radiation exposure. The faulty generator was located outside the reactor cycle, so it was assumed that no radioactivity had reached the surrounding area, communicated the power plant management. The health of the population and employees was not endangered.

The Kozloduy district is located directly on the Danube in the northwest of Bulgaria. The capital Sofia is only about 200 kilometers away from the nuclear power plant. If it came to a Supergau, the city would have to be evacuated. On Tuesday of last week, Bulgaria was hit by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. A connection between the quake and the accident occurred is denied by the operator.

Emergency shutdown of the reactor block
An installed protection device prevented a major incident in which an emergency shutdown was initiated automatically. Only on Thursday the other reactor block was put back into operation after maintenance work. As the Bulgarian government recently announced, the terms of both blocks have been extended by 20 years. Out of a total of six blocks, only two are fully operational after some modernization work.

Already several puncture series
As early as 2003, the State Atomic Energy Agency reported a leak at a weld on the primary cycle of the now shut down third reactor. Subsequently, an emergency cooling occurred. In 2006, another incident occurred. Because the loss of coolant could have occurred, an acute meltdown threatened. The reactor was shut down using boric acid. Originally the operator had the incident according to the „International Rating Scale for Nuclear Events“ classified with the level 0. In retrospect, the national regulatory authority classified the Level 2 incident. The incident became public months later. Due to safety concerns, four out of six reactors were shut down in 2007 before joining the EU.

The Kernmeiler comes from old Soviet design and were built with the help of the then USSR in 1969. The nuclear power plant is identical to the former Greifswald nuclear power plant. After the reunification, the Greifswald nuclear power plant was shut down immediately due to massive security risks.

Another nuclear reactor planned
The member state of the European Union (EU) plans to build another 1000 megawatt block in Kozloduy in the near future. It was only in March of this year that the Bulgarian government declared that it would no longer be able to implement a joint construction planned with Russia at Belene on the Danube. For this purpose, another block of Russian design will be built in Kozloduy. Bulgaria covers one third of its electricity needs with the help of nuclear power plants. (Sb)

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