Europe's largest nuclear reactor has an accident

SGGPO November 30, 2023 14:31

The company operating the Finnish nuclear power plant TVO said that at 11:35 a.m. (GMT, 6:35 p.m. Vietnam time) on November 29, the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor located on the southwest coast of the country stopped operating after a test.

The Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor is located on the southwestern coast of Finland. Photo: TVO

Olkiluoto 3, built by French nuclear group Areva and German technology company Siemens, produces more than 10% of Finland's electricity. After 14 years of delay, this largest nuclear reactor in Europe was put into regular use in April 2023.

Before the incident, Olkiluoto 3 was undergoing fault bypass testing (FRT - the ability of electrical equipment to maintain connection and operation during low voltage at the connection point when a short circuit occurs).

According to Johanna Aho, head of TVO's communications department, the Olkiluoto 3 reactor was supposed to produce electricity normally during the test, but the reactor stopped producing electricity as a result. TVO is currently investigating the cause of the incident.

Previously on November 22, Olkiluoto 3 also resumed power production after the temperature measuring device in the reactor's cooling system failed. The cause of the failure is believed to be a temperature measuring error in the generator's cooling system.

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