T-storm shuts down nuclear reactor in central Russia

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RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED July 08, 2011

A powerful thunderstorm forced the shutdown of one of the reactors at the Balakovskaya nuclear power plant (NPP) in central Russia, the NPP's press service said on Friday.

"A thunderstorm on the border of the Saratov and the Samara regions in late evening on July 7 damaged two power supply lines serving the fourth reactor at the Balakovskaya NPP, causing an automatic safety shutdown," the press service said in a statement.

Radiation levels around the NPP remain unchanged and the work of the fourth reactor will resume after the repairs on two damaged power lines have been done.

The Balakovskaya NPP has four modernized VVER-1000 nuclear reactors with power output of 1,000 MWt each.

Only two of them are currently operational as the first reactor was shut down for scheduled maintenance on June 8 for 60 days.

Natural disasters pose a real threat to nuclear power installations around the world. The recent double-disaster tragedy in Japan has confirmed the vulnerability of the NPP's with most sophisticated safety features.

Topics: Safety, Russia, Balakovo NPP

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