Norwegian atomic reactor shut by internal leak

OSLO, Sep 9: A small nuclear test reactor in Norway was shut down early today after increased levels of radioactivity were detected within the plant, but nuclear safety officials said there was no leak to the environment.

The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) said in a statement that the unit was immediately shut down after radiation was detected within the steel building encasing the reactor at Kjeller, 20 kms northeast of Oslo.

''No radioactivity above normal levels has been detected outside the steel building,'' the NRPA said in a statement.

''No one has been exposed, as far as we know,'' Finn Ugletveit, an NRPA official, told Reuters. He said no one was inside the encasement where the radioactivity was detected.

The research reactor is run by the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), which said in a brief statement: ''The situation is under control.''

REUTERS