Officials reported a non-radioactive water leak at the Czech Republic's Temelin nuclear plant Thursday, a day after the Czech and Austrian presidents discussed the controversial facility. The leak in a generator cooling system forced technicians to shut down one of the plant's two reactors, although Temelin spokesman Vaclav Brom told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that he expects the problem to be fixed by Friday. A similar leak in the non-nuclear portion of the No. 1 block occurred two weeks ago. The latest problem was detected around midnight, and the reactor was disconnected from the power grid 90 minutes later, a plant statement said. The No. 2 reactor was not affected. Temelin, a Soviet-designed plant, has been source of political controversy before it opened four years ago, 60 kilometers from the Czech-Austrian border. Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Austrian President Heinz Fischer touched on the subject briefly in Prague during their first talks since Fischer took office last month. Afterwards, Fischer told reporters that the Czech government had the right to set its own energy policy and Klaus said a Temelin-safety agreement between the two countries was working well. Later, Fischer was confronted by anti-nuclear activists who oppose Temelin, on a walk through Prague. Activists in both countries say Temelin's frequent technical troubles prove their claim that it is dangerous. But the Czech government and its state-run utility CEZ, which owns Temelin, say the plant is safe.
