Bushehr nuclear plant operating normally

A strong earthquake that struck close to Iran’s only nuclear power plant on Tuesday did not affect the plant and it continues operating normally, according to a spokesman for Russia’s Atomstroyexport, a Rosatom subsidiary that completed the construction of the Bushehr plant.
“Tremors were felt at the plant, but the earthquake did not affect the standard situation at the energy block. All personnel continue to work in the normal regime, the levels of radiation are within the norms,” RIA Novosti quoted the spokesman as saying on Tuesday.

The 6.1 magnitude quake, whose epicenter was some 90 km from the Bushehr nuclear power plant, killed 37 people and injured 850 others.

In a statement on Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said, “Iran has informed the IEC (Incident and Emergency Centre) of the event, reporting that there has been no damage to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and no radioactive release from the installation.”

It also added that based on this information, and the International Seismic Safety Centre’s analysis, “which considers the earthquake’s magnitude and other seismic parameters, as well as its location – the IEC is not currently seeking additional information from Iran.”