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In brief

Nuclear Monitor Issue: 
#461
13/11/1996
Article

Accident in Belgian NPP.

(November 13, 1996) There was an explosion at the Belgian nuclear power plant Tihange 1 on October 31. At 11:20 a.m., when a cooling pump was put on, an explosion occurred in the electricity supply unit, causing a fire. One person was injured and three others had to be brought to the hospital because of shock and smoke poisoning. The reactor had already gone critical after a revision. The incident was rated as zero on the international scale for nuclear accidents.
E-mail from "For Mother Earth International"

Two incidents involving Russian warship. A Swedish Viggen air force jet crashed into the Baltic Sea on October 16. It missed the nuclear-powered warship Pyotr Veliky by about 180 meters. The pilot was reported to have died. On October 28, an explosion on the ship killed one man and injured several others. The reactor was not affected and radiation levels were normal, officials said.
Reuter 16, 28 October 1996

Turkey to hold tender for NPP. Turkey will hold an initial tender this coming November 25 for its first nuclear power plant, a 1200-MW station to be build near the southern costal village of Akkuyu. The final tender is planned to start in February 1997, with the winner to be known the following July. Firms interested in building the plant include France's Framatome, the U.S.'s ABB Combustion Engineering and Westinghouse Electric Corp., Britain's General Electric Co. Plc., Japan's Hitachi and Mitsubishi Corporation, a consortium between Canada's AECL and Britain's Kvaerner John Brown, Germany's Siemens, and some local bidders. Plans have long been considered for a nuclear reactor on the Akkuyu site, which first received a construction license back in 1975. Negotations with a Canadian-led consortium (the AECL), collapsed in the mid-1980s after the accident in Chernobyl in April 1986.
Reuter, 1 November 1996 / Power In Europe, 4 October 1996

Russian atomic scientist commits suicide. The Russian top nuclear scientist Vladimir Nechay committed suicide after the 3,000 employees he was responsible were not paid their wages by the government for five months. Nechay had been the director of one of Russia's two federal atomic research centers in Chelabinsk-70. A nationwide strike is being prepared for November 5, with about 20 million workers expected to walk out of their jobs.
UPI, 31 October 1996