ECONOMY
Koeberg bolt probe continues: Erwin
Posted Tue, 18 Apr 2006
The probe into the bolt in the generator incident at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is continuing, but the process of bring the damaged unit one back on line is on track, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said on Thursday.
The investigation by the "appropriate agency" was continuing and it would announce any arrests, Erwin told the media in a briefing at the plant near Cape Town.
The ministers concerned would make an announcement in Parliament when the investigation was concluded.
Asked on what he had based his February 28 statement that the bolt in the generator was "not an accident", Erwin maintained the incident had not been by chance.
"So what gave me cause for making that statement is the circumstances around the incident, which are being very carefully investigated both from a point of view of management's own operating practice, but also because of the possibility that this was an untoward act.
"The position we've stated all along is the
nature of the damage was such that we had to investigate it.
"This is not on the face of it, given what we now know, some accident that happened by chance.
"The circumstances around it is either a serious act of negligence, or it's deliberate, but whatever it is, we have to investigate it exceptionally carefully and that's what we're doing," Erwin said.
The new rotor to replace the damaged one arrived at Koeberg last Friday and was being prepared for installation, officials at Thursday's briefing said.
The stator, within which the rotor fits, was being reassembled and tested.
The expected completion date and synchronisation to the national grid of unit one was May 15, when unit two would shut down for refuelling and maintenance during the third week of May.
Sapa
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