South Africa’s Koeberg Power Station faced three instances of “airborne radioactive contamination” following a power outage. These events occurred on June 30, July 2, and July 7 within the continent’s sole nuclear power facility.

The national nuclear regulator confirmed that during these incidents, no radioactive substances escaped into the surrounding environment. The contamination remained contained within the station, posing no threat to the public. However, elevated levels of airborne radioactive contamination were detected on the west coast of South Africa due to a power loss affecting ventilation systems during maintenance operations.

Workers at the power plant who might have been exposed underwent screening, revealing levels of radioactive contamination below that from a typical dental X-ray. The National Nuclear Regulator reassured that the recent occurrences, while prompting further inspections, did not meet the criteria to be classified as nuclear emergencies and did not result in off-site radiological implications.

Located approximately 25 miles north of Cape Town, the Koeberg plant is Africa’s only operational commercial nuclear station. Commissioned in the 1980s during apartheid, the facility houses two reactors responsible for generating about 5% of South Africa’s electricity, managed by the national utility company, Eskom. Recently, the plant’s reactors received 20-year extensions, allowing them to operate beyond 2040.

South Africa aims to expand its nuclear capacity to address its unreliable and polluting energy sources, primarily coal-based, struggling to meet the needs of a growing population. Despite safety concerns linked to nuclear disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima, many countries, including African nations like Egypt, are turning to nuclear power to fulfill escalating energy demands. Egypt is constructing its inaugural nuclear power plant with Russian reactors, projected to contribute 10% of the country’s electricity by around 2030, as reported by the World Nuclear Association.