Czech Nuclear Power Plant Spilled
Radioactive Water

August 3, 2006
Prague- Radioactive water that spilled at a Czech nuclear power plant has been contained in sealed rooms and poses no danger to the public or environment, a plant spokesman said.

The accident at the trouble plagued Temelin plant near the Czech - Austrian border happened Wednesday but "no release of radioactive substances into the environment and out of the power plant's control zone occurred," said spokesman Milan Nebesar.

The Czech news agency described the leak as "several thousand litres of slightly radioactive water."

The accident was apparently the most serious since about 3,000 litres (793 gallons) of coolant water spilled in May, 2005.

The leak at the twin-reactor did not prevent the affected Unit 2 from continuing to operate at near full capacity, Nebesar said. Unit 1 is currently off-line for refueling.

Temelin has a history of technical problems mainly linked to non-nuclear portion of the plant, such as turbo-generators. Its operation since 2000 has strained relations between The Czech Republic and non-nuclear Austria.

The Soviet-designed plant was retrofilled with western safety controls in the 1990s, but critics say Temelin remains fundamentally flawed.