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On October 21st, Unit 2 of the Russian Rostov nuclear power plant (NPP) was shut down, according to an unnamed source cited by state outlet RIA.
In a statement, an emergency services representative said that “Unit Two at Rostov Nuclear Power Plant has been shut down and put on maintenance because of a steam leak.”
According to the source, no injuries are reported due to the incident, the levels of radiation are safe, and the plant’s three remaining reactors are operating normally. An investigation has reportedly been launched.
The plant’s press service has since told Russian outlet RBC that there was a spike, but everything is under control.
“At 00:54am [local time], in the technical room of power unit Number Two, a spike was detected. According to the approved protocols, the power unit’s capacity was decreased by disconnecting it from the network. The reactor plant is currently in cool down mode. Work is underway on the thermal mechanical equipment.
“The radiation background at the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant is at a level corresponding to the normal operation of the reactors and does not exceed naturally-occurring background values.”
Another source told Interfax that a leak occurred due to a micro-crack on one of the conduits carrying pressurized steam.
“This is the so-called secondary circuit, heat exchange equipment,” RIA Novosti quoted a plant official as saying. “It carries pure steam, where, in principle, there is no radioactivity.”
The Rostov nuclear power plant is a subsidiary of the Rosenergoatom concern (part of Rosatom).
The foundations for the Rostov Nuclear Plant were laid in 1977 as part of the Soviet Union’s national energy program. Construction on Unit Two began in 1983, but work on the reactor was not completed until 2010. It is one of a large number of pressurized water reactors providing power across Russia and much of the former USSR.
The NPP is located on the banks of the Tsimlyansk reservoir 13.5 kilometers to the northeast of Volgodonsk. Rostov-on-Don and Volgograd are situated 205 and 175 kilometers away from the NPP, respectively.
No injuries, everything appears under control, and it seems that it will shortly be restarted. As a result, TV series Chernobyl fans are unlikely to get a second season of the show.
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