On March 13, the second reactor unit of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) suffered an emergency shut down due to a leak in the cooling system. The repair works are still under way. The radiation levels are reported to be normal.

Information about the incident was made public by the NPP’s administration only on March 20 in the local newspaper Vestnik Leningradskoy AES.

Leningrad NPP is operating four RBMK-1000 reactors. The second reactor unit was commissioned in 1975. In 1991, the reconstruction on unit no.2 was launched. The work was finished in 1995. The management is confident that upon completion of all the safety upgrade works on the two oldest units, they will be able to continue operations for 10-15 years beyond their original service life, which expires in the year 2003.