Nuclear power in Europe

The incident at Unit 6 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant poses no risk to people's health or to the energy system, Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov told journalists on Tuesday.Traikov ruled out radiation risk or any other risk to people's health at the power plant.

Sofia. It is impossible to buy uncertified nuclear fuel for Kozloduy NPP. I am certain about that, Ivan Grizanov, former MP and former chief of the Board of Directors of Kozloduy NPP, told FOCUS News Agency He was asked to comment on the protest staged by the Bulgarian nuclear physicist Georgi Kotev in Schuman square in Brussels.

"This is impossible. I think there have been enough explanations about the issue and nobody can do this. There is control and given technical fuel parameters. It is impossible to buy uncertified fuel. I am certain about that," he said.

The European Commission decided to extend the period of financial support to Bulgaria for the decommissioning of units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. On top of the EUR550 million already allocated, the Commission has pledged a sum of EUR300 million for the time period 2010-2013.

Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant at Kozloduy on the Danube River said on November 14 that it paid back early a $52.5 million loan to Russia's state-owned Roseximbank, which it took to upgrade its two working 1000MW reactors.

The reason for the early repayment of the loan, due in 2021, was avoiding currency risks, the plant said, as quoted by website mediapool.bg. The loan was denominated in US dollars, while its revenue was in leva and euro, the plant operator said.