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Technical problem shuts French nuclear reactor for hours

PARIS: A technical problem forced the closure of a reactor at the Gravelines nuclear plant in northern France for seve
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"There was a fault in regulating a valve," the spokesman told AFP, after the number three reactor was shut down late Tuesday.

"The reactor was switched back on" Wednesday and would be fully up and running later in the day, he added.

The Gravelines plant has six reactors of 900 megawatts each.

Such precautionary shutdowns are relatively frequent. According to RTE, which runs the French electricity network, it was the fourth such incident this month at the site.

 

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011