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Africa's only nuclear plant suffers three 'airborne radioactive contamination' events

Koeberg Power Station, on South Africa's west coast, has suffered three separate incidents involving 'airborne radioactive contamination' following a loss of power in recent days

[Koeberg nuclear power station]

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The Koeberg Power Station has faced three "contamination" incidents in recent days (file)(Image: AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

A South African nuclear power plant suffered three incidents involving "airborne radioactive contamination" after a loss of power.

The three separate contamination events took place inside the Koeberg Power Station, the only nuclear power station in Africa, on June 30, July 2 and July 7.

South Africa's nuclear regulator said Thursday that no radioactive material leaked into the environment on the three occasions and it was all contained inside the station, with no danger to the public.

But there was "elevated airborne radioactive contamination" at the site on South Africa's west coast, when there was a loss of power to ventilation units during maintenance work, the National Nuclear Regulator said.

Workers inside the power station who may have been exposed were screened and recorded radioactive contamination below the radioactivity a person is exposed to when they have a dental X-ray, the NNR said.

The regulator said that while it was conducting further inspections the recent events "did not meet the criteria for classification as a nuclear or radiological incident or emergency and did not result in any off-site radiological consequences".

The Koeberg plant is located around 25 miles north of South Africa's second biggest city, Cape Town.

It is Africa's only commercial nuclear power station and was commissioned in the 1980s during apartheid. It has two reactors which generate around 5% of South Africa's electricity, and is operated by the national electricity company, Eskom.

Its reactors were recently granted 20-year life extensions, clearing them to be operational until after 2040.

South Africa has plans to expend its commercial nuclear capability with new stations to support its unreliable and polluting energy supply, which is struggling to provide for a growing population and heavily based on burning coal.

Other countries are also turning more towards nuclear power to meet skyrocketing energy demands despite long-held safety fears from opponents of nuclear power citing disasters like Chernobyl and, more recently, Fukushima in Japan.

Several other African nations are advancing their own commercial nuclear plans, including Egypt, which is building its first nuclear power station with four large Russian reactors that it hopes will be operational around 2030 and generate around 10% of the country's electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association.

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