Koeberg nuclear plant says no risk after contamination

South African officials have moved to reassure the public about the safety of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station following a series of internal contamination incidents during a scheduled maintenance outage. The events, which occurred between June 30 and July 16, involved elevated levels of airborne radioactive material detected inside the containment building of Unit 2, but authorities insist there was no release into the environment and no risk to surrounding communities.

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, alongside Eskom executives, held a media briefing on July 19 to address concerns. They confirmed that three primary incidents were recorded on June 30, July 2, and July 7, with a fourth detection occurring on July 16. The incidents took place while Unit 2 was offline for a planned outage that began in April and is scheduled for completion in November 2026. Unit 1 continues to operate normally.

According to Eskom's chief nuclear officer, Velaphi Ntuli, the airborne radioactivity was caused by microscopic oxide particles, known as "crud," becoming dislodged during eddy current testing of the unit's new steam generators. This robotic inspection technique is a...