Fire shuts down Spanish nuclear plant
The fire broke out at one of the Vandellos II power station's electricity generating units and triggered an emergency shutdown, the Nuclear Safety Council said in a statement.
The fire was extinguished two hours later, and there were no injuries or environmental damage.
Vandellos II is situated on the Mediterranean coast 140 kilometers (87 miles) southeast of Barcelona, and is one of seven Spanish nuclear plants. It is run by Spain-based energy companies Endesa and Iberdrola, S.A.
The fire was the second incident at a Spanish nuclear plant in recent months.
The Asco plant, located along the Ebro River 44 miles (28 kilometers) upstream from the Mediterranean, leaked in November 2007, but operators did not detect it until March. They then waited until April 4 to notify regulators, according to the Nuclear Safety Council.
The council recently proposed a fine of up to €22.5 million (US$33 million) over the leak, saying operators initially downplayed the amount of contamination released.
Spain has seven nuclear power plants. The Socialist government, which has come out against nuclear energy, says it will let them run until their licenses expire, then decommission them.
Related News
Atlantic grids, forestry, coastlines need rethink in era of intense storms: experts
HALIFAX - In an era when storms with hurricane-force winds are expected to keep battering Atlantic Canada, experts say the region should make major changes to electrical grids, shoreline defences and even the types of trees being planted.
Work continues today to reconnect customers after post-tropical storm Dorian knocked out power to 80 per cent of homes and businesses in Nova Scotia. By early afternoon there were 56,000 customers without electricity in the province, compared with 400,000 at the storm's peak on the weekend.
Recent scientific literature says 35 hurricanes -- not including post-tropical storms like Dorian -- have made landfall in…
