The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, located near Cape Town, South Africa, recently experienced three incidents of radioactive contamination. However, no radioactive substances were released to the outside, and there is no impact on public health or environmental safety.
The South African National Nuclear Regulator stated that the three incidents occurred on June 30, July 2, and July 7, all during maintenance work on Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. During the maintenance, a power outage in the ventilation system led to a temporary increase in the level of radioactivity in the air inside the station. Immediately after the incidents, the station activated emergency protocols, imposed isolation and controls on the affected areas, and prevented the contamination from spreading outside.
The South African National Nuclear Regulator said that comprehensive checks on potentially affected staff showed their exposure doses were lower than the radiation from a single dental X-ray. The incidents did not reach the thresholds defined as a nuclear accident, radiological accident, or emergency under the International Nuclear Event Scale, and there is no indication of any threat to public health or environmental safety.
According to information on the South African National Nuclear Regulator's official website, Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is located on the west coast of South Africa, about 27 kilometers from Cape Town. The station was commissioned in the 1980s and has two units with a total installed capacity of 1,854 megawatts. Unit 2 was taken offline in April this year for routine safety checks and maintenance and is scheduled to restart in late September.