Thirteen nuclear anomalies registered in Belgium in 2018

Thirteen nuclear anomalies registered in Belgium in 2018

Thirteen nuclear anomalies were registered in Belgium in 2018, but there were no incidents, according to statistics from the federal nuclear control agency, AFCN, published on Thursday. The AFCN has oversight over all nuclear installations in Belgium. In addition to the Tihange and Doel nuclear plants, this also includes research centres.

Events at these installations are classified, based on their severity, according to the INES international scale, which has seven levels, with Level 1 being the lowest.

In 2018, only Level 1 “anomalies” were observed in Belgium. Ten (10) of the 13 were at the Tihange and Doel reactors: missing instrumentation cable for emergency diesel generators; unavailability of the pumps that cool down the reactor during a stoppage; unavailability of the second external electric power supply system; issues with the concrete in the bunker…

The three remaining events were at the National Institute of Radioelements in Fleurus.

In 2017, eight anomalies had been registered along with one (Level 2) incident: a poorly protected radioactive package transported on a passenger flight between Cairo and Brussels via Zurich.


The Brussels Times


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