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UKRAINE-FIRE-NUCLEAR
Ukraine says radiation levels safe after nuclear plant fire
KIEV, April 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that
radiation levels remained safe after a fire broke out at a nuclear power
plant, leading to the shutdown of one of the reactors.
The fire, which was extinguished within an hour, began late Monday at the
Rivne nuclear power station in western Ukraine, around 300 kilometres (190
miles) from Kiev.
It erupted in an electrical transformer, triggering the reactor protection
system and “the third reactor was turned off,” Ilona Zayets, a spokeswoman
for the state nuclear agency Energoatom, told AFP on Tuesday.
“Radiation levels have not risen,” she said, adding that no one was hurt
as a result of the incident.
She said the causes are being investigated.
The level of seriousness of the incident on the international scale for
emergencies at nuclear stations is zero, the nuclear agency said in a
statement.
The third reactor remained switched off on Tuesday because the transformer
needs to be replaced.
Ukraine currently operates four nuclear power plants with a total of 15
reactors. Rivne power plant has four reactors.
Nuclear power is an important energy source for Ukraine, accounting for
around 50 percent of its electricity production.
Ukraine was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster when one of
the reactors at Chernobyl power station, which is about 100 kilometres (60
miles) north of Kiev, exploded in 1986 during testing.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1636 hrs