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Ukraine's Chernobyl Plant Shut Down
Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant was shut down early Monday after an ice-covered power line broke and caused a sharp drop of electricity, officials said.
Reactor No. 3, the plant's only working reactor, was closed down by its automatic safety system and workers plan to restart it on Saturday, a plant spokesman said.
There were no malfunctions in the reactor and no radiation leaks were reported.
Ukraine has said it will permanently close the nuclear power plant ¡ª site of the world's worst nuclear disaster ¡ª on Dec. 15. Ukraine promised to shut Chernobyl down after years of pressure from European governments and environmentalists.
The plant's reactor No. 4 exploded and caught fire on April 26, 1986, sending a radioactive cloud over much of Europe in a disaster believed to have eventually killed thousands of people.
Chernobyl's No. 2 reactor was shut down after a fire in 1991, and reactor No. 1 was halted in 1996.
The remaining reactor has been the focus of disputes between international groups concerned over safety and energy-strapped Ukraine, which fears losing the electricity the reactor provides.
It has been shut down frequently by automatic safety systems over the past year due to various malfunctions.
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