Belgian Tihange nuclear plant restarts operation after incident

Unit 1 of the Tihange nuclear plant in the province of Liege was reconnected to the power grid on Monday afternoon after an incident in the morning, Serge Dauby, head of communications at the plant, told Xinhua.

The Tihange plant 1 had been operating on 50 percent capacity since Monday Morning.

According to the spokesperson of Electrabel, Anne-Sophie Huge, people nearby heard a sound like an explosion. "It is comparable to the noise of the passage of a high-speed train when you are close," she said.

The incident, which caused a turbine to stop working, happened after a circuit breaker in the non-nuclear part of the plant was tripped.

The operator has ensured that it has no impact on workers or the environment.

Following the stoppage, all circuits were analyzed and the unit, which has a capacity of 962 MW, has now been restarted.

The Tihange nuclear plant has three reactors and was built in the 1970s on the banks of the Meuse in the province of Liege. Endit