A defective seal has been discovered during load tests at the new third block of the Slovak nuclear power plant Mochovce. The gradual commissioning of the reactor, which has been going on since September, was therefore interrupted, the operating company announced on Tuesday. The leak in part of the reactor was noticed during pressure testing, a spokeswoman said. Once the seal has been repaired, testing will continue next week.
The Mochovce 3 reactor block, which was only completed this year after years of delays, was filled with fuel rods for the first time in September. The first nuclear fission took place on October 23.
The reactor should be commissioned in mid-January
The reactor will go online in mid-January. Given the already long start-up phase, the operating company does not expect major further delays due to the necessary repairs.
Appeal against delayed operating permit
The first steps towards the construction of the third reactor were already taken in 1987, but the actual further construction was only resumed in 2008. Recently, objections from the Austrian environmental protection organization Global 2000 had delayed the final operating permit.
150 kilometers east of Vienna
The Mochovce nuclear power plant is located about 100 kilometers east of the Slovak capital Bratislava and 150 kilometers east of Vienna. In addition to the first two units in Mochovce, which have been in operation for about 20 years, Slovakia also operates two nuclear reactors at the Jaslovske Bohunice site.
Source: Krone
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