Warden Message June 5, 2008: Shutdown of Krško Nuclear Power Plant

The Embassy wishes to inform American citizens in Slovenia of the following announcement by the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA) regarding the shutdown of the nuclear power plant (NPP) in Krsko on Wednesday, June 4.

The event was classified as an unusual event. There was no need for off-site protective measures. The unusual event is the lowest level of an emergency event without any hazard for the NPP staff and the population. The primary coolant release was detected only in the containment where no NPP staff is present. There were no releases to the environment. There was no damage to the nuclear fuel.

During the initial examination with staff entering the containment, it was discovered that the leak was near the reactor coolant pump. In order to repair the leakage, the plant needs to be brought into a cold shutdown mode, which means that the repair will probably take a few days.

A special expert group at the SNSA monitored the event up to the plant shutdown. SNSA does not expect any worsening of the plant state. According to the procedure of international notification of such events SNSA has informed the IAEA, ECURIE and neighboring countries about the event.

Updates on the situation can be found at the SNSA web site, http://www.ursjv.gov.si/en/.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found.  Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S., or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.  These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

The U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana is located at Prešernova 31, tel. 386-1-200-5500.  For after-hours emergencies, call the same number and press zero.  The Embassy’s web site is http://ljubljana.usembassy.gov.