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INES and the disturbances in nuclear facilities
2000 – 2009
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INES, Who the f... is INES?
The International Scale of Nuclear and Radiological Events (INES) is a tool to educate the public about the safety implications of nuclear and radiological events, but INES has a problem...
We are always looking for up-to-date information. Anyone who can help, please send a message to:
nuclear-world@reaktorpleite.de
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2019-2010 | 2009-2000 | 1999-1990 | 1989-1980 | 1979-1970 | 1969-1960 | 1959-1950 | 1949-1940 | Before
2009
December 27, 2009 (INES 1) NPP Fessenheim, FRA
Plant residue got into the cooling circuit when the reactor was started up...
(Costs ?)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Fessenheim nuclear power plant
Operational disruptions
Since the nuclear power plant went into operation, there have been over 1989 incidents between 2008 and 200 that would have had to be reported according to the German Radiation Protection Ordinance...
On December 27, 2009, the second reactor of the nuclear power plant was temporarily shut down because of plant residues in the cooling circuit. The electricity company EDF said it was still unclear when the reactor would be restarted. The French nuclear regulator classified the incident at the plant as INES 1. The reactor, which was taken offline for maintenance work on December 26th, was supposed to have resumed operation at around 27 a.m. on December 6th. According to EDF, plant debris got into the cooling circuit when a water pump was restarted when the reactor was about to be started up. This affected the performance of the system...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Fessenheim (France)
December 2, 2009 (INES 2) NPP Cruas, FRA
Vegetation blocked the inlet of the cooling system, the system had to be shut down and repaired.
(Cost approx. US$4 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia fr
Centrale nucleaire de Cruas
On December 2nd, leaves and other fall debris collected in the river cooling water circuit in unit 4 of the Cruas NPP and blocked it. The reactor was shut down and put into hot standby with the flow-independent emergency feed via the steam generators. However, even after this process, the reactor core must be further cooled with the flow cooling water - due to the ongoing decay - in the so-called after-cooling operation so that it does not overheat and melt...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Cruas_(France)
August 9, 2009 (INES 1) NPP Gravelines, FRA
The fuel assembly system failed to properly eject the spent fuel rods from the Gravelines nuclear plant, resulting in the fuel rods becoming stuck and the reactor shutting down.
(Cost approx. US$2 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Slowly but surely, all the relevant information about disruptions in the nuclear industry is coming from the German Wikipedia away!
Nuclear Power Plant_Gravelines
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#France
In August 2009, during the annual fuel exchange in Reactor 1, a fuel element became stuck on the upper handling structure, halting operations and resulting in the evacuation and isolation of the reactor building...
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Gravelines_(France)
June 10, 2009 (INES 2) Nuclear factory Cadarache, FRA
Dismantling of the production plant for MOX fuel elements
In June, 39 kilograms of plutonium were discovered during dismantling work at the French nuclear facility Cadarache. The Atomic Safety Agency ASN stopped the work on October 15, 2009 and classified the incident in INES category 2 "major incident". She also accused the operator of not reporting the event in a timely manner...
Wikipedia de
Cadarache - ATPu production plant - dismantling
After the end of its use as a manufacturing plant for MOX fuel elements in 2003, it was decided to dismantle this sub-plant. Demolition work began in February 2009. In October 2009, work on the plant had to be temporarily stopped by order of the French nuclear safety authority because a total of 39 kg of plutonium dust was unexpectedly discovered in the glove boxes...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Cadarache (France)
The Center de Cadarache is located on the so-called Durance fault, a geological fault zone where strong to devastating earthquakes have repeatedly occurred every 100 years, most recently in 1913. Most of the facilities in Cadarache are therefore considered by French seismologists to pose a radiation risk viewed the region...
25 May 2009 (North Korea's 2nd nuclear bomb test) in Punggye-ri, PRK
Wikipedia de
North Korean nuclear weapons program
Nuclear weapons test in 2009
According to its own statements, North Korea launched a launch vehicle with the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-5 communications satellite on April 2009, 2, despite international protests. The UN Security Council condemned the missile launch on April 13, 2009. In protest against this, the North Korean Foreign Ministry declared on April 14, 2009 the end of the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear weapons program and its consistent continuation.
On May 25, 2009, another nuclear weapon test was carried out. According to Russian information, the explosive device had an explosive force of 20 kilotons. In addition to the nuclear weapons test, several short-range missiles were fired...
Punggye-ri (Proving Grounds)
List of nuclear weapons tests
Atomwaffen A - Z
North Korea
“De facto” nuclear weapons state | “De Facto” Nuclear Weapon State
North Korea signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1985 because US intelligence discovered a classified reactor capable of producing plutonium. The North Korean government refused to allow full control by the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until 1992. During subsequent inspections, the IAEA found that there was a discrepancy between North Korea's reported amount of reprocessed plutonium and its own measurements. The IAEA suspected that more plutonium was being reprocessed for a nuclear weapons program, totaling over 20 kilograms - enough for three small warheads. Tensions between the United States and North Korea over the nuclear weapons issue led to a crisis in the spring of 1994 that almost resulted in war...
Punggye-ri
Nuclear test site, North Korea
All of North Korea's six previous nuclear tests (2006-2017) were conducted at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site (also known as Hwaderi). The facility is located in the mountains north of Hamgyeong Province in the northeast of the country under Mount Mantap. At the end of April 2018, North Korea decommissioned the nuclear test site and detonated significant parts in front of gathered press on May 24, 2018, following a summit agreement with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to promote peace between the two parts of Korea...
2008
September 5th to November 6th 2008 (INES ? Class.?) NPP Asco, ESP
These incidents from 2008 are in the Post Ascó Nuclear Power Plant in Wikipedia can no longer be found and the link to the source of the information has also been deleted.
Wikipedia de
Ascó Nuclear Power Plant
Between September 5, 2008 and November 6, 2008, eight INES accidents were registered in the double-unit facility, five of them in Unit II. (Source: CSN)
List of accidents in European nuclear facilities
October 2008 (INES ? Class.?) NPP Gravelines 5, FRA
Wikipedia de
Nuclear Power Plant_Gravelines
During the overhaul in June, the engine of one of the two emergency diesel engines was replaced. After more than three months, in October, it was discovered that this replacement engine had not been installed properly: the diesel would not have been available for three months, which represents a redundancy failure that was far too long...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Gravelines_(France)
August 25, 2008 (INES 3) 
IRE Fleurus, BEL
http://www.greenpeace.de/themen/energiewende/atomkraft/belgien-strahlenunfall-schwerer-als-gedacht
Wikipedia de
Fleurus
Radiochemical Industrial Plant - 2008
After a production process was completed, three smaller collection tanks were transferred to a larger wastewater tank. An unexpected chemical reaction occurred with the formation of radioactive iodine-131. Due to a defective measuring computer, this could slowly and unnoticed escape into the surrounding area via a chimney over a few days. When the problem was noticed, production was stopped in the entire plant on the instructions of the Belgian supervisory authority and a sector of the district 5 kilometers to the northeast was banned from eating agricultural products for a few days...
Institut_national_des_radioéléments
An estimated 45 GBq of iodine-131 was released through the chimney. The Belgian nuclear regulatory agency Agence Fédérale de Contrôle Nucleaire (AFCN) shut down the IRE, a producer of radioisotopes for medical use, immediately after the accident was reported. Residents were warned by the police over loudspeakers six days after the incident not to eat fruit, vegetables, milk and water from the area, after the government's crisis management team had revoked the initial all-clear and activated the European information system ECURIE...
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#Belgium
From 2002 to 2011, a total of 5 INES-relevant accidents (3 x INES-2 and 1 x INES-4 and INES-3 each) were registered in Belgium.
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
July 15 and August 18, 2008 (INES 1) NPP Santa Maria de Garoña, ESP
Slowly but surely, all the relevant info on disruptions in the nuclear industry is coming out Wikipedia away!
Wikipedia de
Santa_María_de_Garoña
On July 15 and August 19, the plant's two battery systems were tested. According to the CSN authority, their determined capacity was insufficient. In the event of an accident, these direct current systems perform various safety functions, such as starting the emergency diesel or displaying the reactor status. The main problem with this event is that after detecting the malfunction of the first system on July 15, the operator did not test the second system immediately, but only on August 19, 2008 ...
CSN - Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear
http://web.archive.org/web/20141122120320/http://www.csn.es/index.php/es/nuclear-power-plants/santa-maria-garona
Reportable Events
Level I event at the Santa María de Garoña nuclear power plant, reported on August 18, 2008, due to the detection of a capacity failure in the supply batteries of the main buses A and B...
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Santa_Maria_de_Garona_(Spain)
In February 2012, it was decided to extend the term by five years until 2018. However, on December 16, 2012, nuclenor prematurely took the nuclear power plant off the grid due to a lack of profitability. An upgrade would have cost 120 million euros, and for 2013 there would also have been an increased tax of 153 million euros.
On June 19, 2013, the Spanish Energy Minister confirmed that the reactor would officially be permanently decommissioned on July 6, 2013...
July 23, 2008 (INES 0 Class.?) NPP 
Tricastin, Pierrelatte, FRA
The operator Areva reported that on July 08, uranium-contaminated sewage had leaked and flowed into the Rhone. On July 23, around 100 people were "lightly contaminated" by radioactive particles.
(Cost approx. US$8,6 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Tricastin Nuclear Power Plant
... on July 23, around 100 people were "lightly contaminated" by radioactive particles. The particles had escaped from the vent line of a shut down nuclear reactor.
Police forces searched the director's office to find out whether the operator had complied with the applicable safety regulations...
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July 8, 2008 (INES 1 Class.?) Nuclear factory Eurodif, Pierrelatte, FRA
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Tricastin (France)
2008 uranium accident
On July 8, 2008, an alarm was raised in the Tricastin area. In a plant for the treatment of uranium solutions on the nuclear power plant site, 30 cubic meters (= 30.000 liters) of uranium-containing liquid leaked from a leaky retention basin during cleaning...
Water extraction and fishing were prohibited. The environmental protection movement Sortir du Nucléaire dismissed the regulator's claim that there was little risk as downplaying it. "Anyone who drinks contaminated water has the particles in their body. Even with low levels of radiation, there is a considerable risk of cancer."
On July 11, three days later, the nuclear supervisory authority prohibited further operation of the plant because the safety measures were insufficient. It was suddenly said 224 kilograms of uranium leaked and 74 kilograms of it got into the waters.
Sortir du Nucléaire questioned the classification of the accident as an INES level 1 incident because radioactivity was released. "Based on the information provided by the authorities, the incident should be classified at least as a 'serious incident' at level 3, if not as an 'accident' at level 4."...
Wikipedia de
Eurodif#accident
... The radioactive solution seeped into the ground and through the sewage system reached the smaller rivers Gaffière and Lauzon, the Rhone, possibly also into the groundwater ...
About the amount of the leaked pollutants, the information varies between 6,25 cubic meters of solution with about 75 kilograms of non-enriched uranium (operator information) and 30 cubic meters of solution with about 360 kilograms of uranium (ASN).
According to an independent investigation by the organization CRIIRAD, the incident exceeded the legal limits for annual radiation emissions into the environment by more than 100 times...
June 10, 2008 (INES Class.?) NPP Rivne, UKR
Wikipedia de
Nuclear Power Plant_Rivne
Barely a week after Krško, the same scenario (June 04, 2008 in Krško) was repeated in the Ukrainian NPP Riwne/Rowno. This time the media reported only very sparsely or not at all. The power plant was temporarily taken off the grid...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Rivne_(Ukraine)
June 6, 2008 (INES 1) NPP Philippsburg, GER
Wikipedia de
list of events
According to the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment, during the night of Friday, June 6, 2008, a drop in pressure was detected in the containment of Unit I that exceeded the permissible values. The vessel, which encloses important parts of the reactor, has a slight overpressure of 20 millibars during normal operation. According to the ministry, the pressure drop determined was 1 millibar per hour and was due to a leak. The leak occurred when the system was started up after the inspection and immediately after the tank was flooded with nitrogen...
Philippsburg nuclear power plant breakdowns and incidents
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Philippsburg (Baden-Wuerttemberg)
June 4, 2008 (INES 0) NPP Krsko, SVN
Regulators shut down the Krsko nuclear power plant after the primary cooling system failed and coolant leaked into the reactor containment.
(Cost approx. US$12 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Nuclear power plant Krško#incidents
A loss-of-coolant accident occurred on June 4, 2008 at 15:07 p.m. Coolant leaked in the main cooling system (primary circuit) and the reactor output was then throttled. The reactor was shut down and completely shut down at 20:10 p.m....
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Krško (Slovenia)#Risks and Incidents
Problems arose during delivery in 1981: When the 322-ton steam generator was being transported from Rijeka to Krško, it crashed onto the highway. In the first eight years, operations at the $70 billion facility were interrupted XNUMX times...
May 2008 (INES Class.?) NPP Cruas 4, FRA
Wikipedia de
Cruas nuclear power plant
This block was in the revision standstill with the reactor open. Suddenly it was noticed that two valves of the residual heat removal were only partially open for a full four days, which significantly impeded the post-decay heat removal. Writes from an automatic alarm ASN nothing, it is therefore conceivable that the whole thing was only noticed after these four days by steam phenomena in the reactor flood basin (note: NPPs have to cool the fuel even after the reactor has cooled down and opened for the first time, since the fission products continue to with degressive intensity, decay).
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Cruas (France)
April 2008 (INES Class.?) NPP Flamanville, FRA
Wikipedia de
Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant
In block 2 of the Akw Flamanville was acc. to Nuclear Regulatory Authority ASN “Severe corrosion” was found in the engine cooling lines of both emergency diesel generators. The safety reserves for an emergency power failure were therefore small...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Flamanville (France)
February 4, 2008 (INES 0) NPP Krümmel, GER
Wikipedia de
nuclear power plant_crumbs
On February 4, 2008, a smoldering fire occurred in a ventilation system. The fire was extinguished by the plant fire department within an hour; no external help was necessary. The nuclear regulatory authority sent an expert and said that no radioactivity was released at any time. This incident (INES 0) was used by numerous environmental and climate protection organizations to question the safety of the Krümmel nuclear power plant and nuclear energy...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Crumbs_(Schleswig-Holstein)
Boiling water reactor • Output: 1.402 MW • Type: BWR-69 • Manufacturer: KWU • Construction began April 5, 1974 • Commissioning: September 14, 1983 • Shutdown: August 6, 2011 • Start and end of dismantling: open
Der Spiegel
The breakdown series of the nuclear power plant operator Vattenfall
Trouble at the nuclear power plant operator Vattenfall: New details of the incidents in Brunsbüttel and Krümmel as well as new disruptions become known almost every day. The group is reprimanded for its information policy and security culture. Now there is a risk of the operator's license being revoked...
February 2008 (INES Class.?) Nuclear factory La Hague, FRA
Wikipedia de
La Hague reprocessing plant
The highly active substances treated in this reprocessing plant constantly release explosive hydrogen, which threatens the tightness of the building when it reacts with oxygen. To avoid an explosion, the air in the building is freed from hydrogen by continuous circulation. For 3,5 hours, this circulation only worked in normal operation, both reserve air strands were not operational due to defects or maintenance work...
Greenpeace, under the supervision of a sworn technical expert, determined... 400 cubic meters of radioactive wastewater are washed daily into the Strait of Alderney via Herqueville via a four and a half kilometer long pipe. This process is legal because only dumping barrels of nuclear waste into the sea is prohibited, but direct discharge is not...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
La Hague (France)
World's largest reprocessing plant
There have been a number of incidents in La Hague since it went into operation.
A study published by the European Parliament in 2001 lists events from 1989 to 2011 that were reported by the operator. Eight incidents were described in more detail...
See in the EU study from 2001 on the Pages 112 and 113
There are comparable nuclear factories all over the world:
Uranium enrichment and reprocessing - facilities and sites
During reprocessing, the inventory of spent fuel elements can be separated from one another in a complex chemical process (PUREX). Separated uranium and plutonium can then be reused. As far as the theory...
Youtube
Uranium economy: Facilities for processing uranium
Reprocessing plants turn a few tons of nuclear waste into many tons of nuclear waste
All uranium and plutonium factories produce radioactive nuclear waste: uranium processing, enrichment and reprocessing plants, whether in Hanford, La Hague, Sellafield, Mayak, Tokaimura or anywhere in the world, all have the same problem: With every processing step More and more extremely toxic and highly radioactive waste is being produced ...
February 2008 (INES Class.?) NPP Paluel, FRA
Wikipedia de
Paluel Nuclear Power Plant
Incorrect dispositions of insulation fittings were found in one of the four blocks in February, which had existed for more than five months. "This questioned the tightness of the containment," writes the ASN, "during the period in question, had an accident happened". A core melt could have resulted in releases.
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#France
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Paluel (France)
The Paluel site is located in the Seine-Maritime department in northern France on the English Channel, northeast of Le Havre and northwest of Rouen.
In Paluel, four pressurized water reactors with an output of 1.382 MW each generate electricity, which went into operation between 1984 and 1986...
2007
December 2007 (INES Class.?) Vandellos, ESP
Wikipedia de
Nuclear Power Plant Vandellòs
After the eight Spanish NPP units had recorded 14 INES incidents in just three consecutive months, another incident occurred in Vandellos in December. During a test with the reactor running, some shutdown rods unexpectedly collapsed into the core. According to the supervisory authority CSN, this led to a pressure drop in the reactor circuit, and thus to the triggering of the emergency cooling. The pressure build-up that followed led to the activation of the reactor safety valves and the leakage of slightly contaminated cooling water into the containment sump. An internal emergency pre-alarm was triggered.
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Vandellos (Spain)
28 November 2007 (INES 2) NPP Asco, ESP
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Ascó (Spain)
In October 2021, the Spanish government approved an extension of the operating license for Ascó-1 and -2 until 2030 and 2031, respectively.
Escape of radioactive water
In November 2007, the conditions in the nuclear power plant seemed appalling. Radioactive particles were released through the ventilation and also reached houses and the Ebro. The operators only admitted the leak months later after environmental protection organizations had received the relevant information. In the meantime, dozens of school classes had visited the nuclear power plant. Proceedings have been opened against those responsible...
Wikipedia de
Ascó Nuclear Power Plant
incidents
In an incident on November 28, 2007, radioactive particles totaling 84,95 million becquerels were released into the environment. However, the operating company only informed the supervisory authorities (“Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear”, CSN) on April 4, 2008, and only incompletely. On April 15, 2008, the incident was classified as INES level 2...
Wikipedia en
Asco Nuclear Power Plant
In November 2007, an INES level 1 incident occurred in reactor unit 2. The Spanish Council for Nuclear Safety (CSN) was not informed of the leak until April 4, 2008. Although the leak occurred in November, the particles were not discovered outdoors until March 2008.
The CSN initially estimated the total radioactivity detected at around 235.000 becquerels. The plant operator later estimated that a maximum of 2,3 microcuries of radioactivity escaped. CSN announced that it would change the classification of the leak from Level 1 to Level 2 because of "inadequate control of the radioactive material and incomplete and deficient information provided to the control agency". An investigation was launched and the director of the facility was fired...
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
August 21, 2007 (INES 2) NPP Beznau, CHE
Wikipedia de
Beznau nuclear power plant
On August 21st, Block 2 was in annual revision. The block-common reserve network feed was switched off for maintenance work. To compensate, the emergency diesel generator of Unit 1, which was running at full load, was switched on while idling. After the reserve network was established, it was noticed that this diesel would not have fulfilled its emergency power function due to a malfunction. According to the HSK authority, there would theoretically still have been a cross-connection to the emergency diesel of the switched off block 2, but this diesel was also under maintenance...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Beznau (Switzerland)
Greenpeace has published a fact sheet on Beznau with a list of incidents. According to this, for example, in 1992 two workers died who were in an unpumped room with argon. In 1997 there was a total failure of a cooling system for two weeks. According to the Swiss supervisory authority ENSI (then HSK), however, "one of three emergency cooling lines was not immediately ready for use for two weeks." In August 2009, two workers were badly exposed to radiation due to uncoordinated work. Incidents and emergency shutdowns have increased since 2007.
The August 2009 incident was assessed as an INES Level 2 incident. Because of the accident, ENSI only certified that the Beznau nuclear power plant had sufficient operational safety in 2010 and initiated criminal proceedings...
July 22, 2007 (INES Class.?) NPP Unterweser, GER
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Unterweser (Niedersachsen)
On July 22, 2007, it was discovered that a fitting in one leg of the refrigeration system was improperly adjusted. In the event of an accident, the line would not have been able to provide the required cooling capacity.
Wikipedia de
KKW Unterweser
... The cause was an incorrect adjustment of the electronic position indicator on the valve during the inspection in 2006. This was not noticed until the inspection in 2007.
June 28, 2007 (INES 0 Class.?) NPP Brunsbuettel, Germany
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Brunsbuettel_(Schleswig-Holstein)
On June 28, 2007, the nuclear power plant was automatically shut down due to a power grid defect that caused a smoldering fire on the turbine. Because of this breakdown and faulty dowels and anchoring, the reactor was temporarily taken offline in the same month and finally taken offline on August 6, 2011 due to the federal government's decision to phase out nuclear power...
June 28, 2007 (INES 0 Class.?) NPP Krümmel, GER
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Krümmel
With the accident that occurred on June 28, 2007, the "safety culture" of the operators Vattenfall and E.ON reached a new low. A fire broke out in a transformer plant, which enveloped the nuclear power plant in large black clouds. The operator and the Ministry of the Environment said in unison that there was no danger. However, Vattenfall's claim that there was no connection between the fire and the nuclear area of the reactor was described as misleading and disinformation by the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Social Affairs, which is responsible for nuclear supervision.
The incident, which initially looked like a harmless industrial accident, increasingly gave the impression of a "near-disaster" that kept the public busy for weeks...
MSGF - Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Family, Youth and Senior Citizens of the State of Schleswig-Holstein
Interim report on the events at the Brunsbüttel and Krümmel nuclear power plants on June 28, 2007
Spiegel dated July 12, 2007
The breakdown series of the nuclear power plant operator Vattenfall
dated July 17, 2007
Vattenfall's dark secret
June 2007 (INES Class.?) NPP Cattenom, FRA
Wikipedia de
Cattenom nuclear power plant
The plant on the border with Saarland released zinc into the Moselle in June in a concentration that was above the permitted limit. The annual limit has not been exceeded, writes EDF; it remains unclear whether it was normal zinc (heavy metal) or the radioactive isotope.
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#France
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Cattenom (France)
May 7, 2007 (INES 1) NPP Philippsburg, GER
After an inspection, the safety container was not properly closed "because of an inaccurate limit switch"..
(Costs ?)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Philippsburg nuclear power plant#Further incidents
On May 7, 2007, another reportable event occurred in Block 1: Two small valves on the personnel lock of the security container were forgotten to close when starting up and nitrogen escaped during inerting...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Philippsburg (Baden-Wuerttemberg)
2007 (INES Class.?) NPP Leibstadt, CHE
Wikipedia de
nuclear power plant_Leibstadt
When the automatic pressure relief system (DAS) was accidentally triggered during a test in normal operation, some of the pressure relief valves in the reactor system opened. The water had to be replenished with the emergency cooling (sources: IAEO, HSK)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Leibstadt_(Switzerland)
2007 April (INES Class.?) NPP Penly 2, Ms
Wikipedia de
Penly Nuclear Power Station
When the block was restarted after the overhaul in April, after two days of testing, it was noticed that all emergency cooling pumps would have been unavailable during the two days if required (source: ASN)
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#France
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Penly (France)
2007 (INES 1 Class.?) NPP Dampierre, FRA
Wikipedia de
Dampierre nuclear power plant
Failure of the external network including the reserve network as well as an emergency diesel generator with 100% supply capacity. The factory is about 80 km from Paris. The reactor was cooled down with the only remaining diesel (100%). Nevertheless, the French regulatory authority ASN only classified the incident with INES 1. Reason: The redundancy reserves of the self-steam-driven auxiliary turbine (ready for immediate use) and the gas turbine (whose synchronization could take hours) were still available (sources: ASN, IRSN)
Nuclear power accidents by country#France
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Dampierre (France)
2006
October 9, 2006 (North Korea's 1nd nuclear bomb test) in Punggye-ri, PRK
Wikipedia de
North Korean nuclear weapons program
Underground, 0,55 kilotons (kT) - According to North Korean information, the test was carried out successfully on October 9, 2006. Numerous governments around the world sharply criticized the bomb test; Even China, which is allied with North Korea, was threatened with consequences...
Punggye-ri (Proving Grounds)
List of nuclear weapons tests
Atomwaffen A - Z
North Korea
“De facto” nuclear weapons state | “De Facto” Nuclear Weapon State
North Korea signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1985 because US intelligence discovered a classified reactor capable of producing plutonium. The North Korean government refused to allow full control by the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until 1992. During subsequent inspections, the IAEA found that there was a discrepancy between North Korea's reported amount of reprocessed plutonium and its own measurements. The IAEA suspected that more plutonium was being reprocessed for a nuclear weapons program, totaling over 20 kilograms - enough for three small warheads. Tensions between the United States and North Korea over the nuclear weapons issue led to a crisis in the spring of 1994 that almost resulted in war...
Punggye-ri
Nuclear test site, North Korea
All of North Korea's six previous nuclear tests (2006-2017) were conducted at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site (also known as Hwaderi). The facility is located in the mountains north of Hamgyeong Province in the northeast of the country under Mount Mantap. At the end of April 2018, North Korea decommissioned the nuclear test site and detonated significant parts in front of gathered press on May 24, 2018, following a summit agreement with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to promote peace between the two parts of Korea...
July 25, 2006 (INES 2) NPP Forsmark, SWE
A short circuit in an outdoor switchgear of the network near the boiling water reactors caused the emergency shutdown of unit 1 and led to a series of subsequent failures in the plant in a complex scenario. Due to a design error, disconnecting the plant from the grid and switching to house load operation - in which the power plant uses its own electricity to run important ancillary units - did not work as planned.
(Cost approx. US$12 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant
On July 25, 2006, the Forsmark-1 reactor was automatically disconnected from the power supply after a short-circuit in the substation through which the nuclear power plant feeds its electricity to the general grid. This led to a load shedding of the generator and the heat produced in the reactor could no longer be converted into electrical power. The reactor was shut down via a scram. The electricity for the control of the nuclear power plant and the feed pumps, which have to dissipate the decay heat, failed. It had to be provided as a substitute by diesel emergency power generators. However, two of the four generators could not feed into the emergency power grid because they remained electrically connected to the 500 V line, which had failed. In addition, the power supply for some of the measuring devices in the control room failed...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Forsmark (Sweden)
On July 25, 2006, Sweden apparently narrowly escaped a nuclear catastrophe. Reactor 1 at Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant was cut off from power supply due to a short circuit. Only two out of four emergency generators started up. An investigation into the accident revealed that the short circuit had failed computers, speakers, and displays, preventing personnel from seeing the reactor data clearly. "For example, the water level in the reactor dropped significantly as a result of the scrambling, but the exact level remained unclear because of the power outage."
According to the former chief designer of the nuclear power plant, Höglund, one was only 20 minutes away from a meltdown.
The accident was classified as an INES level 2 incident.
March 11, 2006
(INES 4) IRE Fleurus, BEL
Wikipedia fr
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_national_des_radioéléments
On March 11, 2006, a worker irradiating food at Sterigenics was severely irradiated by the Cobalt-60 ionizing radiation source. He entered the room when the source was unsecured and received a high, potentially lethal dose of 4,4 to 4,8 Gray. It was an INES 4 accident. The IRE had a contract for safety management in the company.
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#Belgium
From 2002 to 2011, a total of 5 INES-relevant accidents (3 x INES-2 and 1 x INES-4 and INES-3 each) were registered in Belgium.
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
March 6, 2006 (INES 2) Nuclear factory NFS, USA
At a Nuclear Fuel Services facility in Erwin, 35 liters of highly enriched uranium spilled, necessitating a seven-month shutdown.
(Cost approx. US$115 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia en
Nuclear_Fuel_Services
Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS)
is an American nuclear company. Along with BWX Technologies, the company is the main supplier of nuclear fuel for the US Navy. In addition, the company deals with the conversion of plutonium and uranium from nuclear weapons into fuel rods for nuclear power plants. Browns Ferry nuclear power station is one of the main customers. In addition, one deals with the decontamination of old nuclear power plants. Headquarters Erwin is a small town in Tennessee, Unicoi County.
On August 20, 2007, it was announced that a criticality accident had almost occurred in Erwin...
Nuclear power accidents by country#United_States
March 6, 2006 Erwin, Tennessee, USA. The NFS facility leaks 35 liters of highly enriched uranium, necessitating a seven-month shutdown.
Nuclear_Fuel_Services#NRC_events
On May 11, 2008, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission released information on emergency reports related to two incidents that occurred in 2006 at the Erwin facility. The first incident was a liquid spill of highly enriched uranium that could have resulted in a criticality incident.
The second incident involved an uncontrolled "point of accumulation" where a critical mass of uranium could have accumulated and was discovered in the course of responding to the first incident. In other words, no protection systems were in place to prevent solution leakage from occurring at the bottom of an elevator shaft in the facility. The result of material accumulation in a confined space could be a criticality incident.
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
March 1, 2006 (INES 2) NPP Kozloduy 5, BGR
During the power reduction in the Russian-design pressurized water reactor (VVER), the operators discovered that 22 of 61 control rods could not be moved with the drive mechanisms. The operator had initially classified the incident as INES level 0, but Bulgarian security authorities eventually approved the incident as INES 2.
(Costs ?)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant#Incidents
On March 1, 2006, one of four main coolant pumps failed in Unit 5, so output was to be reduced by 6% by retracting a group of 30 control rods. However, 3 of these remained stuck in the top position, whereupon the reactor was shut down by injecting boric acid into the cooling circuit. A quick shutdown was then simulated by retracting the remaining nine groups with a total of 54 control rods in order to check their function. It turned out that a further 19 control rods failed in the same way (a total of 22 out of 60). The cause of the malfunction was a change in the design of the control rods by the manufacturer Gidropress. In the event of a simultaneous loss of coolant (e.g. due to the supply line being torn off), its failure could have led to overheating and melting of the reactor core. The operator had originally classified the incident as Level 0 on the International Nuclear Event Rating Scale, but the regulator upgraded it to Level 2. The incident only became known two months later...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Kozloduy_(Bulgaria)
... Of the original six reactors, units 5 and 6 with an output of 1.000 and 1.040 MW, which were put into operation in 1987 and 1991, are still online. Reactors 1 and 2 were decommissioned in 2002, reactors 3 and 4 in 2006.
[...] An IAEA ASSET mission in 1993 examined a total of 93 events that occurred between December 1990 and May 1993, of which 73 were considered security-relevant. In 1994, 425 events were listed, 177 of which were safety-relevant (one event was classified as INES level 2)...
2005
June 29, 2005 (INES Class.?) NPP Forsmark, SWE
Radioactive water leaked into the Baltic Sea from an interim storage facility.
(Cost approx. US$12 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant
Forsmark, June 29, 2005
On June 29, 2005, radioactive water from the interim storage facility for low and medium-level radioactive waste in the Swedish Forsmark NPP entered the Baltic Sea. Ten times the normal level of radioactive cesium was measured in the waters near the power station. According to the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute SSI, however, this is still within the permissible limits. Corroded tin containers with radioactive waste were probably to blame for the leak.
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Forsmark
According to a Greenpeace statement in 2012, the Swedish nuclear power plants in Forsmark, Oskarshamn and Ringhals pose a great danger to the population of Sweden and its neighboring countries due to "technical deficiencies and a poor safety control culture."
June 16, 2005 (INES Class.?) NPP Braidwood, IL, USA
Millions of liters of tritium-contaminated water were released from the nuclear power plant from spring 1996 to March 2006, contaminating the local water supply.
(Cost approx. US$48 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Braidwood
In the hot summers of 2000 and 2012, the operator had to obtain special permits to operate the nuclear power plant at higher cooling temperatures than originally planned.
Braidwood is a nuclear power plant that was threatened with closure. However, on September 16, 2021, the governor of Illinois signed an energy law that would provide a $694 million cash injection for the endangered Braidwood, Byron, and Dresden nuclear power plants.
incidents
In 2006, Excelon was charged with dumping millions of gallons of tritum-contaminated wastewater into groundwater from spring 1996 to March 2006, a charge the operator did not report until December 2005.
For example, on June 16, 2005, tritium leaked from the nuclear power plant and contaminated the local water supply; the damage caused a cost of US$48 million.
In June 2011, US media reported that tritium leaks had been detected at 48 out of 65 nuclear power plant sites in the US. According to a July 2014 list, Braidwood was also affected...
Slowly but surely, all the relevant info on disruptions in the nuclear industry is coming out Wikipedia away!
Wikipedia de
Braidwood
In March 2006, multiple lawsuits were filed against Exelon and Commonwealth Edison for tritium releases into local water systems between 1996 and 2003...
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#United_States
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
April 19, 2005 (INES 3) Thorp, Seascale, Nuclear factory Windscale/Sellafield, GBR
20 tons of uranium and 160 kilograms of plutonium leaked over the course of a year from a burst pipe at the thermal oxide reprocessing plant (Thorp) at Sellafield.
(Cost approx. US$76 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
This incident is the only accident in Sellafield after Windscale 1957 that can still be found in Wikipedia de
Wikipedia de
Sellafield# Incidents
In April 2005, a leak was discovered in Sellafield, through which around 83.000 liters of radioactive liquid, consisting of nitric acid, uranium and plutonium, escaped unnoticed for months. It is the most serious incident at a nuclear facility in Great Britain since 1992. The public was only informed weeks later, the first press reports appeared on May 9, 2005. The "Independent on Sunday" later reported that the pipe had been leaking since August 2004, but this was not discovered until April 19, 2005.
The British nuclear company BNG (British Nuclear Group), which is responsible for the decommissioning of the Sellafield reactors, was fined on 16 October 2006 for negligence to pay £500.000 (around 750.000 euros) for the incident. The cost of this event is estimated at $76 million.
Since the late 1940's and Windscale/Sellafield's inception, approximately 20 incidents of greater or lesser severity involving the release of radioactivity have been reported. Up until the mid-1980s, large quantities of the nuclear waste generated in day-to-day operations were discharged in liquid form via a pipeline into the Irish Sea.
Wikipedia en
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield
Nuclear power accidents by country#United_Kingdom
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Sellafield (formerly_Windscale), United Kingdom
On April 19, 2005, a leak was discovered in a damaged pipe at the THORP facility, which had leaked 83.000 liters of radioactive acid. The British nuclear company British Nuclear Group (BNC) admitted failing to comply with safety regulations and was ordered to pay £500.000. The incident was classified by the IAEA as a major INES level 3 incident...
There are comparable nuclear factories all over the world:
Uranium enrichment and reprocessing - facilities and sites
During reprocessing, the inventory of spent fuel elements can be separated from one another in a complex chemical process (PUREX). Separated uranium and plutonium can then be reused. As far as the theory...
Youtube
Uranium economy: Facilities for processing uranium
Reprocessing plants turn a few tons of nuclear waste into many tons of nuclear waste
All uranium and plutonium factories produce radioactive nuclear waste: Uranium processing, enrichment and reprocessing plants, whether in Hanford, La Hague, Sellafield, Mayak, Tokaimura or wherever in the world, all have the same problem: with every processing step More and more extremely toxic and highly radioactive waste is being produced...
March 28, 2005 (INES Class.?) NPP Leibstadt, CHE
Wikipedia de
nuclear power plant_Leibstadt
On March 28, 2005, the Leibstadt NPP came to a standstill for five months. The reason for this was damage to the generator; the repair work on the generator was not the responsibility of the HSK (nuclear supervisory authority), as the nuclear part of the nuclear power plant was not affected.
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Leibstadt_(Switzerland)
2005 (INES 2)
All nuclear power plants in France
The ASN supervisory authority announced that - in the event of a leak in the reactor circuit - if the line suction strainers of the emergency cooling in the containment sump (with waste such as insulating material or rags) clogged, "the coolability of the core is not guaranteed". INES classification: 2. Improvement measures have been announced. The cleanliness is the smaller problem; the aforementioned insulating material only comes off due to a leak that has occurred, due to the pressure forces of the exiting water jet.
Wikipedia fr
Nuclear power accidents by country#France
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
2004
2004 (INES 2) NPP Vandellòs 2, ESP
Wikipedia de
Nuclear Power Plant_Vandellòs
The supervisory authority CSN discovered that the operator of this plant had concealed pipe corrosion from them for years, which could have called into question the functionality of the component cooling system. If both lines had failed at about the same time (and not just one, as happened), the reactor would have been almost impossible to cool down...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Vandellòs_(Spain)
November 4, 2004 (INES Class.?) NPP Balakovo, RUS
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Balakovo_(Russia)
On the night of November 3rd to 4th, 2004, an incident occurred due to a malfunction in a turbine, which is why the Balakovo-2 reactor was automatically shut down. There is said to be no damage to the reactor. However, because of contradictory news, there was great concern among the population: "Hundreds of residents fled that day for fear of radioactive contamination of the surrounding area. Business owners closed their shops and pharmacies were out of stock of iodine preparations to prevent health damage caused by radioactive radiation." The reactor was restarted a few days later...
Wikipedia de
Nuclear Power Plant_Balakovo
On November 4, 2004, there was an accident at the nuclear power plant, as a result of which there was great concern among the population in the town and the surrounding area[4] and there was some panic buying. Numerous frightened residents supplied themselves with iodine-containing radiation antidotes in pharmacies, as eyewitnesses and news agencies reported. Universities in Samara, 300 kilometers northeast, were closed. City businesses advised their employees to stay at home. The environmental organization Greenpeace in Russia feared a leak. The incident brought back memories of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1986 in Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union).
Ultimately, according to the operator Energoatom, the incident at the power plant was only a minor disruption. The Russian Atomic Energy Agency announced that there were no increased radioactive emissions and that any danger could be ruled out...
Aug 9, 2004 (INES 1 Class.?) NPP Mihama, JPN
A steam explosion in block 3 of the Mihama nuclear power station killed 5 workers and injured 6 others.
(Cost approx. US$11 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia en
Mihama_Nuclear_Power_Plant#2004_accident
On August 9, 2004, an accident occurred in a building housing the turbines of the Mihama 3 reactor. Five workers died and six others were injured when hot water and steam escaped from a ruptured pipe. The accident, which was provisionally classified as INES level 0, was described as the worst accident (to date) at a Japanese nuclear power plant...
Nuclear power accidents by country#Japan
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Wikipedia de
Nuclear Power Plant_Mihama
incidents
After two minor incidents in Unit 2 in 1991 and 2003, a fatal accident occurred on August 9, 2004 at 15:30 p.m. local time with four employees among the employees. According to police, the workers were hit by a jet of steam at 270 degrees Celsius. Another seven people were injured. The accident was caused by a leak in the turbine hall...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Mihama_(Japan)
In August 2004, at Mihama-3, a condensate line in the non-nuclear secondary circuit broke longitudinally and circumferentially. The escaping hot water turned to steam and scalded workers; five died and six others were injured. The cause was corrosion and sloppiness: the wall thickness of the line had thinned from an initial 10 mm to around 1,5 mm, and the line is said not to have been checked since the reactor was commissioned. The vulnerability had been known a year earlier...
July 27, 2004 (INES 1 Class.?) NPP Neckarwestheim, BW, DEU
Wikipedia de
Nuclear power plant_Neckarwestheim
At the Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant, human error caused an incident in which water from Block II, contaminated with two megabecquerels, got into the Neckar despite countermeasures being taken immediately. For the first time in Germany, the incident led to the operating company of a nuclear power plant (EnBW) having to pay a fine (€25.000). A plant manager was fired because he had made critical comments.
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Neckarwestheim_II_(Baden-Württemberg)
On July 27, 2004, low-level radioactive water escaped from the nuclear power plant and flowed unnoticed into the Neckar. Since the release of radioactive substances was not reported, administrative offense proceedings were initiated...
8. February 2004 (INES 0) NPP Biblis, GER
Wikipedia de
Nuclear Power Plant_Biblis
During full-load operation, due to insecure coverage of safety-relevant devices, a weather-related short circuit occurred outside the power plant, which led to the power plant block being disconnected from the 220 kV high-voltage network at 12:48 p.m. As a result of the incident, the unit also disconnected from the 380 kV network due to faulty control mechanisms. This sudden drop in load meant that the system could no longer stabilize itself to meet its own needs. As a result of these events, to avoid further safety risks, the reactor was automatically shut down and all four emergency diesel generators necessary to maintain reactor safety were started...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Biblis_(Hesse)
...As early as the 1960s, the mayor of Biblis, Josef Seib, tried to get the community to build the nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant was welcomed for a long time because it was perceived as an economic factor; RWE also donated a sports hall to the community for eight million German marks. There was initially little resistance to the Biblis-A and -B reactors. This only changed when it became known in 1973 that RWE was planning two additional blocks C and D and submitted applications for approval in 1975. Years of discussions began about the safety of the plant, especially about the risks of a reactor accident with a core meltdown as a result of a plane crash. "Biblis is initially located in a low-altitude training zone and is often directly overflown by fighter jets." Biblis-C and -D were abandoned because of the protests...
2003
November 19, 2003 (INES 2 Class.?) Nuclear factory La Hague, FRA
X workers were contaminated with plutonium during cleaning work.
(Costs ?)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
La Hague reprocessing plant
The highly active substances treated in this reprocessing plant constantly release explosive hydrogen, which threatens the tightness of the building when it reacts with oxygen. To avoid an explosion, the air in the building is freed from hydrogen by continuous circulation. For 3,5 hours, this circulation only worked in normal operation, both reserve air lines were not operational due to defects or maintenance work. (Source: ASN)
Greenpeace, under the supervision of a chartered engineer, found that a four-mile long pipe was flushing 400 cubic meters of radioactive sewage per day into the Alderney Strait via Herqueville. This operation is legal, since only the dumping of barrels with nuclear waste in the sea is prohibited, but direct discharge is not ...
Wikipedia fr
La Hague site
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#France
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
La Hague (France)
World's largest reprocessing plant
There have been a number of incidents in La Hague since it went into operation.
A study published by the European Parliament in 2001 lists events from 1989 to 2011 that were reported by the operator. Eight accidents were described in more detail ...
There are comparable nuclear factories all over the world:
Uranium enrichment and reprocessing - facilities and sites
During reprocessing, the inventory of spent fuel elements can be separated from one another in a complex chemical process (PUREX). Separated uranium and plutonium can then be reused. As far as the theory...
April 10, 2003 (INES 3 NAMS 3,9) NPP Paks, HUN
During cleaning work in Unit 2 of the Nuclear Power Plant, the casing of some fuel rods was damaged. 360 TBq of radioactive gas escaped.
(Cost approx. US$43 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Nuclear Power Plant_Paks
During cleaning work in Unit 2 of the Paks nuclear power plant, the fuel rod casing was damaged. Radioactive gas escaped, causing a “serious incident” (INES 3). No one was injured in this accident. However, the measuring probes in the area registered noble gas pollution above the limit values...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Paks_(Hungary)
In 2003, a serious INES level 2 accident occurred at reactor 3, in which several fuel elements were damaged during cleaning and radioactive gas escaped. No one was injured, but the reactor could not be put back into operation until four years later. An IAEA report said they initially found increased radiation in a cleaning pool near the reactor core and opened the cleaning system. "It turned out that the majority of the 30 fuel elements were overheated due to a lack of cooling and were severely damaged or melted." The damaged fuel elements were transported by rail to Mayak, Russia, in August 2014, without the public being informed at the time...
March 1, 2003 (INES Class.?) NPP Kozloduy 3, BGR
Wikipedia de
Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant
In full load operation, a primary circuit leak suddenly occurred at a weld seam. The emergency cooling started working. In contrast to the more powerful Units 1 and 4 and all western pressurized water reactors, units 5 to 6, which have now been shut down, were able to shut off individual segments of the primary circuit with valves. A shut-off was made so that the loss of water could be stopped after a relatively short time.
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Kozloduy (Bulgaria)
... Reactors 1 and 2 were decommissioned in 2002, reactors 3 and 4 in 2006.
[...] An IAEA ASSET mission in 1993 examined a total of 93 events that occurred between December 1990 and May 1993, of which 73 were considered security-relevant. In 1994, 425 events were listed, 177 of which were safety-relevant (one event was classified as INES level 2)...
2002
22 November 2002 (INES 2) NPP Tihange-1, BEL
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Tihange (Belgium)
The most dangerous incident, classified as INES level 2, occurred in 2002: due to a valve being opened accidentally, the pressure in the primary circuit of the Tihange nuclear power plant dropped and cooling water evaporated. If the safety systems hadn't responded, a meltdown could have resulted.
Wikipedia de
Tihange Nuclear Power Plant
On November 22, 2002, an accident occurred in Unit 2 (INES 2). The reactor - at that time shut down and no longer critical - was still producing decay heat, which, as in power operation, was dissipated by circulating coolant in the primary circuit. During a test, a safety valve in the pressure holder was opened by mistake, causing the pressure in the primary circuit to drop very quickly from 155 bar to 85 bar. The high pressure in the primary circuit during operation means that the water does not boil, but remains liquid, even at high temperatures. If the pressure drops, the boiling temperature of the water also drops. Then the decay heat of the fuel elements can no longer be removed and there is a risk of a core meltdown. In this specific case, due to the rapid drop in pressure, several safety systems were activated, which pumped water into the primary circuit and thus further cooled the fuel elements. The pressure relief valve that was opened by mistake was closed again after three minutes.
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#Belgium
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
March 8, 2002 (INES 3) NPP Davis Besse, USA
Severe corrosion of reactor head control rod drives forces 24-month shutdown of Davis-Besse reactor.
(Cost approx. US$167 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Davis Besse Nuclear Power Plant#Incidents
In March 2002, during a long-delayed inspection, it was discovered that boric acid had leaked from the reactor near a control rod bushing on the lid of the reactor pressure vessel. The boric acid is used to control the reactor and is added to the coolant. However, the acid reacts very aggressively to heavy metals. As a result, there was severe corrosion on the reactor lid, so that only a few millimeters thin layer of the inner lining of the lid remained. Experts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory then calculated that, in the worst case scenario, it would have taken another five months for a large leak to form in the reactor lid...
Wikipedia en
Nuclear power accidents by country#United_States
Translation with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Davis Besse (USA)#Corrosion on the reactor pressure vessel (serious accident)
A serious level 1 incident occurred in Davis-Besse-2002 in 3, which exemplifies the interaction of material weaknesses, poor safety culture and negligently carried out controls. A serious nuclear accident only happened due to chance...
21 January 2002 (INES 2) NPP Flamanville, FRA
Control systems and safety valves failed after improper installation of condensers, forcing a two-month shutdown.
(Cost approx. US$119 million)
Nuclear Power Accidents
Wikipedia de
Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant
On January 21, 2002, incorrect installation of capacitors caused errors in the control system and safety valves. The cost of the incident is estimated at $119 million...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant - Block 2
On January 21, 2001 (?) a control system failed in Flamanville-2 due to an error during maintenance work. A chain of irregularities and damage to various systems followed...
2001
December 14, 2001 (INES Class.?) NPP Brunsbuettel, Germany
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Brunsbüttel (Schleswig-Holstein)
On December 14, 2001, another hydrogen explosion occurred, destroying a cooling line and endangering reactor pressure and containment vessels. Since the operator only reported the incident three days later, "the Federal Environment Ministry expressed doubts about the reliability of the operator" - a threat to withdraw the operating license." The safety team refused to shut down the reactor for an inspection and downplayed the damage for two months. Vattenfall stuck to its cover-up tactics and, in order to reassure the population, set up a "commission of experts" made up of nuclear power supporters. The Schleswig-Holstein nuclear regulator created a detailed list with several hundred defects, but it was not allowed to be published due to legal resistance from Vattenfall. The report was also not handed over to German Environmental Aid.
The nuclear-critical doctors' organization IPPNW accused Vattenfall of not responding adequately with retrofitting and safety measures to the hydrogen explosions in the Brunsbüttel and Krümmel nuclear power plants (Schleswig-Holstein), and of the Schleswig-Holstein state government of lying to parliament. The company and the state government rejected the allegations.
Wikipedia de
Brunsbüttel nuclear power plant
Serious incident at the Brunsbüttel NPP. As it became known only a few months later, a hydrogen explosion had occurred in the immediate vicinity of the reactor pressure vessel. The supply line for cooling the reactor cover with a diameter of 100 mm was torn over a length of 2 to 3 meters. There was a risk that splinters could damage the containment by passing the splinterguard. The operator HEW tried to cover up the incident as far as possible. For example, it was only reported to the responsible ministry as "spontaneous seal leakage". Only after two months did the supervisory authorities manage to inspect the “leak” while the reactor was shut down, and the extent of the incident was discovered, despite a violent dispute with the operator. If the reactor had been shut down according to regulations immediately after the explosion, the operator would have had to buy additional electricity for several million euros at the beginning of winter.
November 16, 2001 (INES Class.?) High Flux Reactor, IfE, Petten, NLD
Wikipedia de
Institute of Energy
As part of the EURATOM treaty, the Netherlands and the then EURATOM Commission signed the treaty establishing the European research center in 1961, which was opened in Petten in 1962. It took over the high-flux reactor for materials research that had gone into operation the previous year and is now used primarily for the production of medical isotopes...
According to a report by the former IE director Frans Saris, on November 16, 2001, there was an officially concealed accident (station blackout = total power failure) in the High Flux Reactor, in which one was only just before a core meltdown. Due to a failure of the external power supply, the pumps used to cool the reactor suddenly lost power. After that, the emergency power supply failed, and due to the insufficient power supply, the operators also had great difficulty opening a valve that is used for passive emergency cooling...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Netherlands
In 1955 the construction of the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten was started, with which one wanted to gain experience with atomic energy ...
In December 2021, the new government announced that it would build two new nuclear power plants and provide five billion euros for them. In addition, the term of the Borssele nuclear power plant is to be extended. The reasons given were climate change and an increase in the security of supply with energy...
August 12, 2001 (INES 2 Class.?) NPP Philippsburg, GER
A deviation from the prescribed boron concentration was reported to the authorities. In addition, the liquid level had not reached the value stipulated in the start-up operating instructions and was only implemented with a delay. Subsequent investigations revealed that significant deviations from the commissioning requirements and violations of the relevant instructions have probably been common for several years.
(Costs ?)
Nuclear Power Accidents
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Philippsburg (Baden-Wuerttemberg)
Philippsburg II was started up in August 2001 with a defective emergency cooling system. Although the defect was discovered two weeks later, the reactor continued to operate unlawfully. It was later determined that the emergency cooling system had not been sufficiently filled for years. It should be added that the operator did not report this incident from 2001 to the supervisory authority. In November 2001, the Stuttgart Ministry of the Environment reported that contaminated water had leaked out of Philippsburg I due to a defect in a fitting for company drainage...
Wikipedia de
Philippsburg nuclear power plant
At the Philippsburg nuclear power plant, the operating team failed to see that the emergency cooling system did not meet the requirements of the operating manual when block 2 was started up. The emergency cooling system was sufficient to cool the cold and uncritical reactor. After restarting the reactor, the emergency cooling system was upgraded to the extent required by the limit values. However, the incident mentioned below occurred. The coolant, which is buffered in the flood tanks (emergency cooling system) of the nuclear power plant, fell below the permissible boron concentration. Three of the four existing containers were affected. As a result of these events, the power plant manager and two board members of the operator EnBW lost their jobs.
2000
July 5, 2000 (INES Class.?) NPP Grafenrheinfeld, DEU
Wikipedia de
Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant
At the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant, there was a fire in the motor of the main coolant pump, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the reactor pressure vessel...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Grafenrheinfeld (Bavaria)
June 26, 2000 (INES 1) NPP Grafenrheinfeld, DEU
Wikipedia de
Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant
On June 26, 2000, an INES stage 1 incident occurred at the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant. Technical defects were found in five of eight control valves that had been installed the year before.
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Grafenrheinfeld (Bavaria)
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