VORONEZH, September 7 (RIA Novosti) - The fifth reactor at the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was shut down Wednesday for maintenance, an official at the plant said.
The reactor was initially stopped for maintenance in late June 2004. Technicians from the plant and Rosenergoatom, the state's nuclear power generator, replaced all 109 pipes with new ones and changed defective parts in the VVER-1000 reactor lid.
The fifth block only became operational on August 30, 2005, since its start-up had been postponed many times due to cracks in the welded seams of the reactor lid.
On August 30 and September 2 two generating units (N14 and N13, respectively) were switched on, and on September 3 the fifth block produced 910 megawatts, 91% of its 1000-megawatt design capacity.
An emergency shutdown of the reactor occurred September 5. The causes are being analyzed, the official said. He added that the third and fourth blocks of the NPP were fully operational, and the radiation environment was normal.