Nuclear reactor at Bulgaria’s Kozloduy plant back in operation
Bulgaria’s Kozloduy nuclear power plant said on October 26 that it has restarted operations at the nuclear reactor taken offline a day earlier following a mechanical failure in one of its power generation turbines.
Tests showed that all the systems of Kozloduy’s sixth unit were working properly, the plant said in a statement.
The stoppage was caused by an unspecified element of the turbine controls and caused no change in the radiation levels at the plant, Kozloduy’s management said earlier. Bulgaria’s nuclear regulator has been notified of the incident and has appointed a committee tasked with investigating the reasons for the incident.
Separately, the plant started the planned shutdown of the fifth unit for maintenance work that is expected to last one week and is meant to ensure safe operation during the winter season, the plant’s management said.
Kozloduy now has two 1000MW operational units, with US firm Westinghouse hired this summer to carry out a feasibility study investigating the viability of adding another reactor to the site. Bulgaria shut down four smaller reactors, 440MW each, prior to joining the European Union in 2007.
(Bulgaria’s sole nuclear power plant at Kozloduy. Photo: uvioc/flickr.com)
