PROPERTY SEARCH
PROPERTY SEARCH
ARCHIVED - Spanish nuclear power plant shut down due to leak
Environmentalists have demanded the “immediate and urgent” closure of the facility in Valencia, Spain
The Cofrentes nuclear power plant in the Valencian Community was forced to shut down one of its reactors on Sunday April 24 after a leak in the pressure barrier was noticed in the early hours of the morning.
Shortly after 12.30am, technicians realised that the supply of cooling water to the dry well had considerably increased, and the system was deactivated while the experts examined the extent of the problem.
Iberdrola, who owns the power plant, notified the Nuclear Safety Council of the unscheduled shutdown, and a statement released later that day assured that the malfunction had no impact on workers, members of the public or the environment.
“Given this situation, and in a conservative manner since the limits established by the plant’s Technical Specifications for Operation had not been reached, the licensee decided to initiate an orderly shutdown of the plant at 12.40pm to later uncouple it from the electrical network and thus be able to access the interior of the dry well, in order to identify the origin of the problem,” the statement read.
Despite the fact that Iberdrola quickly found the fault, environmental platform Tanquem Cofrents criticised the company’s management, given that this is the third incident at the plant in less than a month and a half.
"This succession of continuous malfunctions and breakdowns had already led to the CSN putting this plant under special surveillance, even before this latest problem, and demanding an analysis of the causes of repeated breakdowns and frequently in the same systems," the platform pointed out.
The Cofrentes nuclear power plant has been in operation for 38 years and is at this point “old and deteriorated,” according to the environmentalists, who have insisted that “its management’s policy of maximising production and profits over safety", has led to "an exponential increase in the probability of a serious accident, with unimaginable consequences for our population and territory."
Image: Archive
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox
Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)
OR
you can sign up to our FREE weekly roundup!
Read some of our recent bulletins:
Discount Special Offer subscription:
36.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
(List price 3 months 12 Bulletins)
Read more stories from around Spain:
Contact Spanish News Today: Editorial 966 260 896 /
Office 968 018 268
