Russian nuclear power plant shut down for maintenance

Russia's Volgodonsk nuclear power plant was shut down for maintenance work after a technical fault was detected in one of its two reactor blocks, the Interfax news agency reported Sunday.

The steam generator in the first reactor at the plant located near the city of Rostov, some 1,200 kilometres south of Moscow, was found to have a leak, according to the report, dpa reported.

According to the company operating Volgodonsk, radiation levels around the plant would remain normal during maintenance work, which would take about four days.

Volgodonsk went into operation in 2001, with a second 1,000- megawatt reactor becoming operational in December 2009.