Output Halved at Ukraine Reactor 8:31 AM 1/02/00 KIEV, Ukraine (AP) Power output was halved Sunday at reactor No. 2 of Ukraine's Rivne nuclear power plant to conduct repairs, officials said.

The measure was taken after one of the reactor's generators was stopped to fix a cavity discovered in its piping and to investigate some vibrations in bearings, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

No radiation leaks were reported.

The Rivne plant, 200 miles northeast of the capital Kiev, has three Soviet-designed light-water reactors.

Ukraine's five nuclear power plants, with 14 working reactors, produce more than 40 percent of the electricity consumed in the former Soviet republic.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), January 02, 2000

Answers

Is this A: y2k related, or B: a case of heavy duty press monitoring of all nuke plants due to earlier y2k scare. you make the call (hint, I'm betting on B)

-- Mike (mike@noemail.net), January 02, 2000.

Naw, obviously the pipe in question isn't Y2K compliant, nor are the bearing packings. :)

-- Fubar (fubar@foo.bar), January 02, 2000.