Beznau power plant: Block 1 automatically shut down quickly due to malfunction
A malfunction occurred in the non-nuclear part of reactor 1 of the Beznau nuclear power plant. The unit was shut down automatically.
The Beznau nuclear power plant is surrounded by the River Aare. It is located around 30 km from the German border.
(Image: Axpo)
Block 1 of the Swiss nuclear power plant Beznau was automatically shut down quickly on Monday afternoon. A malfunction had occurred in the non-nuclear part of the plant, operator Axpo announced. There is no danger to people or the environment.
The rapid shutdown occurred at 2:10 p.m. due to a malfunction in the level control in one of two steam generators. Unit 1 had been disconnected from the grid and was in a safe condition. Due to the emergency shutdown, steam was temporarily visible above the non-nuclear part of the plant.
Inspectorate is informed
"The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI has been informed", writes Axpo. ENSI writes that the operator is analyzing the technical fault and intends to rectify it. The plant will then be reconnected to the grid in consultation with ENSI. ENSI does not specify when this will take place.
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Block 1 in Beznau underwent an annual inspection for seven weeks last spring. This mainly involved the core internals and the lower feedthroughs of the reactor pressure vessel as well as one of the two high-pressure turbines. The emergency diesel generator of the emergency power system was also replaced with a freshly overhauled replacement unit.
The first unit of the nuclear power plant has been in commercial operation since 1969. The nuclear power plant has no cooling tower; the water required for cooling is taken from the River Aare, which flows past the plant. In June of this year , the Swiss Federal Office of Energy relaxed the rules for the temperature at which cooling water can be discharged. This was met with criticism from environmentalists.
(anw)
