The French nuclear reactor that was automatically shut down Thursday after a small fire also suffered a leak of radioactive water, dpa quoted the plant's operator EDF as saying Friday. EDF said the leak, which was detected after the shutdown of the number two reactor at Penly power plant in Normandy, came from the pump in the reactor's primary cooling system. The plant's technicians succeeded in stopping the leak in the early hours of Friday morning, the EDF statement said. The leaked water had been contained in tanks "destined for that purpose." "This event, which did not interfere with the cooling of the reactor, had no impact on the environment," EDF said, classing the incident as a level one nuclear incident, the lowest level on a scale of seven. The automatic shutdown occurred after a pool of oil that leaked from a pump in the cooling system caught fire in two places. Firefighters intervened quickly to extinguish the flames. There were no injuries. Nuclear safety authority ASN was to carry out an inspection of the facility Friday. EDF has assured the installation is safe. France has the world's second-largest nuclear park, after the United States, with 58 reactors providing 75 per cent of the country's electricity. While last year's meltdown at Japan's Fukushima power plant caused a rethink on nuclear safety in several countries, including Germany. French President Nicolas Sarkozy continues to champion atomic energy as a source of energy independence.
