European wide nuclear alert issued

[belfastuniguy 18]

Slovenia sparks EU nuclear alert

A leak of coolant has prompted Slovenia to shut down the reactor at its only nuclear power plant.

The European Commission says there has been no discharge into the environment. No explosion was reported either.

The Commission alerted all 27 EU member states under its Ecurie early warning system for nuclear emergencies.

A safe shutdown is in progress at the Krsko plant, which has a US-made pressurised water reactor. It supplies energy to Slovenia and Croatia.

"There is no influence on the environment and we do not expect any," said Slovenia's nuclear safety chief Andrej Stritar, quoted by Reuters news agency.quote>

[mcarch 15]

Oh my... time for an update on the plant I say.

[Explodingsims 3]

Oh no...This means more bad publicity for Nuclear Power...

For a type of plant that has only had 2 big accidents, Chernobyl and 3 Mile Island, this people really don't seem to like this. If you think about it, how many coal plants have exploded or burned up? People are mainly just afraid of this because of the waste issue though...

[Simcitymaster13 27]

ops. Thats totally not good. =(

[patriots_1228 51]

1/5 of Americans cannot locate america on a map. Now how many of those other 4/5ths can find Slovenia (i can ). haha, this isn't good. Nuclear power is somthing more people need to look at, and this is only more negative publicity.

[krbe 193]

It is a leak in the cooling system, in a plant 20 years old. It's nothing like the Olkiluoto, unless you work for Greenpeace. I'd worry more of the reactors in Lithuania and other former Soviet countries, especially those which aren't under European supervision.

[belfastuniguy 18]

I agree with Krbe on this.

Modern nuclear power plants are very safe to operate and the technology is being improved constantly. The condition of former eastern-bloc countries is a concern and should be dealt with as a matter of importance.

I'm a supporter of nuclear power and want to see more in the UK. France is a great example of safe and modern nuclear power generation in addition to places like Japan and Scandinavian countries.

[Bumdark 3]

Let's just hope they've got it entirely under control this time... Last time a plant leaked Radiation (talking about the one in Ukraine), contamination (to some level) spread up to England and stuff, which is pretty damn far away...

[coolotter88 2]

that accident was when people were being stupid "hey, lets see what happens when we take the coolant out!".

I'm sure this reactor tank can be patched up with chewing gum and duct tape.

[belfastuniguy 18]

that accident was when people were being stupid "hey, lets see what happens when we take the coolant out!". quote>

Actually the Chernobyl disaster was not caused by a coolant failure.

[Yoman3 5]

It was caused by a steam explosion when the SCRAM was started. This is the insertion of the control rods into the reactor. Only problem was, some idiot tipped them with graphite, which instead of slowing down the reaction, greatly increased it for a brief moment, causing a small explosion, then steam began to build, and well, we all know what happens when steam pressure builds.

[simzebu 19]

The sad thing is, this will put people off nuclear power. But this is exactly what should happen in this rare scenario. The problem is controlled, people are alerted, and most likely, it gets fixed and everyone goes about their lives. No harm, no foul.

[Callbat 8]

Has Soviet engineering failed again?

[belfastuniguy 18]

Has Soviet engineering failed again? quote>

Would be nice if that was the case....however the failed coolant system is in fact American designed and built

[Callbat 8]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy

Has Soviet engineering failed again? quote>

Would be nice if that was the case....however the failed coolant system is in fact American designed and builtquote>

Ahh..sorry

I need to learn to actually read things through

[City2TheMax 3]

woops, here we go again lol. I find it funny that it's an AMERICAN coolant system =P

[Micah 16]

Great. I seriously hope this doesn't deter people from building nuclear plants in America, nor cause the Democrats more reasons to say that nuclear power plants can affect the environment, which is a load a bs when you compare it to junk that oil produces after it's burned.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

[krbe 193]

Originally posted by: Bumdark Let's just hope they've got it entirely under control this time... Last time a plant leaked Radiation (talking about the one in Ukraine), contamination (to some level) spread up to England and stuff, which is pretty damn far away...quote>

That's the thing, it's far from radiation. This is the cooling system, and if that's not working properly, a nuclear power plant isn't working at all. Modern day nuclear powerplants are very safe, and you'll have a  hell of a time even to try to blow it up if you're a terrorist.

And the Chernobyl fallout spread over half the world. In Japan they tightened security at airports to deny contaminated people entrance. Even today they have to slaughter sheep to avoid contaminiation levels to stay high.