A reactor at the Beznau nuclear power plant has been temporarily shut down due to a technical problem.
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swissinfo.ch and agencies
The shutdown at the plant in northern Switzerland happened on Friday night and is expected to last for several days.
A problem arose with the shaft seal unit of the coolant pump at Beznau II, the operator Axpo said in a statement. It was shut down as a “preventative measure”.
Axpo said the reactor posed no danger to the public or the environment. The other reactor, Beznau I, is still operating. It is the oldest in the world.
Axpo told swissinfo.ch the faulty part was new and had been installed last year. Repairs will begin on Monday and once complete the reactor will be checked by the Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate.
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This record isn’t exactly something many Swiss are celebrating. Opponents of nuclear power are calling for Beznau to be shut down as well, but the government is against decommissioning plants early. For Geri Müller, a member of the Green Party in canton Aargau, home of Beznau, the fact that the power station has been in…
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