Ukrainian reactor shut down after minor accident 
Thu May 23, 4:59 AM ET

KIEV, Ukraine - Reactor No. 2 at the Zaporizhia nuclear power station
automatically shut down due to flaws in the operating system, news
reports said Thursday.

Representatives from Ukraine's state nuclear energy utility,
Energoatom, said no breaches in radioactivity limits or safety
protocols occurred during the Wednesday night incident, according to
the Interfax news agency.
      
The reactor is expected to be functional sometime Thursday. No other
details were available.
      
The same reactor had been shut down Sunday for scheduled maintenance.
Technicians later reconnected the reactor after installing a cooling
system generator.
      
Operators had reduced the capacity of the No. 4 reactor at the
Zaporizhia plant on Saturday after a malfunction in its circulation
pump, officials said.
      
Ukraine was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986,
when a reactor at the Chernobyl plant exploded, spewing radiation over
Europe. Chernobyl was closed down for good in 2000, but disassembly
works continue.
      
Minor malfunctions at Ukraine's four remaining nuclear power plants
occur frequently, but don't usually cause radiation leaks. Currently,
eight of 13 Ukrainian reactors are functioning.
      
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