'Leak' delays nuke plant
Source: Agencies |
October 5, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A MONTHS-LONG delay in starting up Iran's first nuclear power plant at Bushehr is the result of a small leak, not a computer worm that was found on the laptops of several plant employees, the country's nuclear chief said yesterday.
The leak occurred in a storage pool where fuel is held before being fed into the reactor core, and has been repaired, said Ali Akbar Salehi, who is also Iran's vice president.
"A small leak was observed in a pool next to the reactor and was fixed. This leak delayed activities for a few days," the official IRNA news agency quoted Salehi as saying.
He did not specify whether it was nuclear fuel or another material that leaked.
Iranian officials say they are battling the Stuxnet computer worm, which they suspect is a covert plot by the West to damage Iran's nuclear work.
The United States, Israel and others accuse Iran of seeking to use the Bushehr power plant as a cover for a secret program to develop atomic weapons.
Iran insists its program is only for peaceful purposes, such as power generation and medical research.
The delay at Bushehr has no connection with Stuxnet, Salehi said, according to IRNA.
Though it infected several personal computers of workers at the Bushehr plant, Iran says the facility's main systems were not affected.
Salehi said fuel will be transferred to the core in mid-October and that the plant will produce electricity in early 2011.
The leak occurred in a storage pool where fuel is held before being fed into the reactor core, and has been repaired, said Ali Akbar Salehi, who is also Iran's vice president.
"A small leak was observed in a pool next to the reactor and was fixed. This leak delayed activities for a few days," the official IRNA news agency quoted Salehi as saying.
He did not specify whether it was nuclear fuel or another material that leaked.
Iranian officials say they are battling the Stuxnet computer worm, which they suspect is a covert plot by the West to damage Iran's nuclear work.
The United States, Israel and others accuse Iran of seeking to use the Bushehr power plant as a cover for a secret program to develop atomic weapons.
Iran insists its program is only for peaceful purposes, such as power generation and medical research.
The delay at Bushehr has no connection with Stuxnet, Salehi said, according to IRNA.
Though it infected several personal computers of workers at the Bushehr plant, Iran says the facility's main systems were not affected.
Salehi said fuel will be transferred to the core in mid-October and that the plant will produce electricity in early 2011.
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