Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFPThe German environment minister has demanded answers from the Swiss authorities after the Leibstadt nuclear reactor in the canton of Aargau near the German border was switched off on Friday night, just seven hours after being restarted following a six months shutdown. Last Thursday ENSI gave KKL the green light to restart the reactor under certain conditions to ensure that such dryouts did not reoccur. Greenpeace has also criticized the move, while 16,000 people have signed a petition against the reactor led by a Swiss Green Party politician, reported Swiss news agenciesSome 12 Swiss and German groups have written to the Swiss government to demand the shutdown of the reactor. Leibstadt is due to be restarted again on Monday evening after the problems with the exhaust system have been fixed, said KKL. Dating from 1984, Leibstadt is one of Switzerland’s five nuclear reactors, but it’s far from the oldest.

Source: The Local February 20, 2017 08:26 UTC