Finnish nuclear reactor back online after small fire

Jun 8, 2007, 11:10 GMT

Helsinki - A Finnish nuclear reactor that was shut down Thursday after a small fire was Friday back online, the operator said.

Staff used a handheld fire extinguisher to put out the fire that was due to oil in a turbine bearing, power company Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), that operates the reactor, said.

Annual two-week maintenance work was completed Wednesday and the reactor was operating at 90 per cent of capacity Thursday when the fire occurred.

The operator said in a statement that there was no signs of 'radiation or environmental impact' and over the weekend expected the reactor to be operating at full capacity.

Finland operates four nuclear reactors, two at Olkiluoto and two at Loviisa, located some 90 kilometres east of the capital, Helsinki.

France's Areva and Germany's Siemens began building a fifth reactor - a European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) - at Olkiluoto in 2005.

In a related development, Trade and Industry Minister Mauri Pekkarinen on Friday said parliament, elected in March, was likely to consider two or three new applications for new reactors during its four-year term.

TVO has launched an environmental impact assessment for a fourth reactor at Olkiluoto while Finnish energy group Fortum has launched a similar process at the site of the four existing reactors.

Earlier this week, several steel, energy and forestry companies, including Germany's E.ON, Boliden of Sweden and Outokumpu of Finland, said they had signed a letter of intent to 'investigate the preconditions for building a new Finnish nuclear power plant.'

Pekkarinen said according to broadcaster YLE that despite the expressed interest it was unlikely that three new nuclear reactors would be built in the very near future.