Path: cs.mu.OZ.AU!news.unimelb.edu.au!news.mel.connect.com.au!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!feeder.kornet.net!nntp.kreonet.re.kr!xfer.kren.ne.kr!newshub1.home.com!news.home.com!news2.rdc1.on.home.com.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID: <385402C9.45A8AB25@home.com> From: Jean Wootton Organization: Jean Wootton X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (Win95; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: talk.environment,sci.environment Subject: Re: Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor Closed After Radioactive Leak References: <384A104E.22AC61C6@home.com> <8bA44.146$ds3.14581@news1.alsv1.occa.home.com> <3852DB22.840D8954@home.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 34 Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 20:16:29 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.112.48.184 X-Complaints-To: abuse@home.net X-Trace: news2.rdc1.on.home.com 945029789 24.112.48.184 (Sun, 12 Dec 1999 12:16:29 PST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 12:16:29 PST Xref: cs.mu.OZ.AU talk.environment:146250 sci.environment:216206 http://cbc.ca/cp/world/991211/w121153.html Chornobyl reactor malfunction cuts Ukraine power supply KYIV (AP) - The Chornobyl nuclear-power plant has malfunctioned, prompting operators to reduce electrical output by 10 per cent Saturday, a Ukrainian news agency reported. No radiation leakage was reported. Operators found a mechanical defect in one of the eight safety valves in the sole working reactor and switched it off, the UNIAN news agency said. The device was aimed at preventing the pressure inside the reactor from rising excessively. No further cuts in production are expected, the report said. The Chornobyl plant, site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986, was closed for planned repairs from July 1 until Nov. 26. Since it restarted in November, it has experienced several breakdowns. Western governments and environmental groups have protested against the plant's operation, demanding its immediate closure. However, the Ukrainian government said due to a lack of funds, it cannot honour its previous pledge to close Chornobyl by the end of this year. It has pledged to shut down the plant sometime in 2000 but authorities said they need two more reactors built to compensate for the energy loss when Chornobyl closes. Meanwhile, a reactor at the Zaporizhia nuclear-power plant was shut down Saturday for planned tests of its safety system. The reactor was to be restarted later in the day. Currently, 10 out of 14 reactors at Ukraine's five nuclear-power plants are working, producing about 40 per cent of the country's electricity.