Technicians shut down a nuclear reactor in southwest Russia Monday after a problem with the cooling system, but no increase in radiation levels was recorded, state-run nuclear power company Rosenergoatom said. "Personnel at the Kursk nuclear power station noticed a leak of cooling agent from a pipe in reactor number two," the statement said. "To avoid a malfunction" the reactor was stopped.
The explanation appeared to contradict an earlier statement in which Rosenergoatom said that the reactor had stopped automatically for unknown reasons and that "there were no violations of limits or security conditions."
Despite the alarm, radiation levels "correspond to the norm… and do not exceed the usual background level" at the plant in Kursk, 540 kilometres (335 miles) southwest of Moscow, the nuclear power company said.
"The shut-down of the reactor presented no danger to the station itself or for the surrounding area," Rosenergoatom said.
The shut-down occurred at 2:24 am (2224 GMT Sunday), the statement said. The reactor will start up again on Wednesday, the company said.
