Belgium’s Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (Fanc) said Engie Electrabel had shut down unit 1 of the Doel NPP on 23 April after the discovery of a small leak in the emergency cooling water circuit. The plant began commercial operation in February 1975. Fanc said the leak "in itself poses no security problems", but it was considering a rating for the incident on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.
The 392MWe pressurised water reactor has been closed for repairs, which will be carried out during a planned maintenance outage that was brought forward from 29 May to 27 April.
Engie Electrabel said on 28 April that the unit will now be shut down at least until 1 October. Nele Scheerlinck, a spokesperson for the Doel NPP, told local television that repairs are very difficult because the level of radioactivity in this part of the nuclear plant is very high.
Doel 1 is the oldest nuclear power reactor in Belgium, and would initially have been shut down in 2015. However, its service life has been extended by ten years to 2025.
Photo: The four-unit Doel nuclear plant
