Nuclear Power Plant at Cofrentes (Spain).

I´d like to know your independient and science point of view of the next situation. Thank you.

Cofrentes (Spain) nuclear power plant suffers a leak of about 4,000 liters of cooling water per day in the reactor core, as recorded by the inspection report of the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) on the last quarter of 2010. This institution, however, say the landfill is 14% below the limit.

The technicians report issued on March 11, 2011 and accessible through the website of the CSN, warns of loss in various actuators of the control rods (CRD), located in the reactor vessel, which will stop a dry well under it.

In the first two actuators, according to the CSN, the trickle is small, but in the past "is ongoing." Thus, the sum of these leaks rises daily intake to about 4 cubic meters, ie a total of 4,000 liters.

Isotopic analysis indicate, as stated in the document of the Nuclear Security Council, that the levels of radioactivity in the water are low, but confirmed that the reactor should be: "The different isotopic analysis carried out show that it is very water reactor diluted. "

In addition, the inspectors need, the size of the leak has been stabilized (kept the 4,000 liters per day) and "parameters drywell activity do not show high values."

From central Cofrentes, his spokesman Juan Cruz has denied, however, that the facility has "no leaks or anything abnormal," even though inspectors Nuclear Security Council referred to this incident precisely with this term.

For Cruz, the losses, which are in accordance with the provisions and the actual design of the plant are sent to a treatment facility and processing from which it subsequently returns to the main circuit.

In fact, the Nuclear Safety Council has said Tuesday that the discharge is 14% below the maximum allowed and not "pose a problem for the operation" Cofrentes.

However, the Platform 'Tanquem Cofrents' ('Shut Cofrentes'), which will integrate many environmental organizations and civic groups, warned of the seriousness of the problem, which would affect the actuators of the control rods and replaced during refueling outages 2005 and 2007.

Environmentalists believe that the existence of these losses "shows that either the welds were not made correctly, or intergranular corrosion process continues to damage the integrity of the reactor vessel."

'Shut Cofrents' platform recalls that the control rods are the main reactor shutdown system in case of emergency and therefore should be in perfect condition. Because, as needed, on plants and Cofrentes boiling water, are driven by a hydraulic system that powers the actuators.

Platform again demanded the closure of nuclear plant, which the Ministry of Industry has extended its business for a decade on 10 March, a day before CSN inspectors sealed the inspection report.