Germany: fire at decommissioned nuclear power plant in Bavaria

On Wednesday (March 19), local police reported a fire at the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant in Bavaria. The plant was shut down in 2015, and it is currently being subjected to demolition work. According to operator Preussenelektra, a tent went up in flames after grinding work, causing a small fire in the ventilation hoses of a mobile air filter system. The fire was quickly extinguished, but 12 workers were slightly injured. Four of them were taken to the hospital. Police said that no radioactive material or hazardous substance was released during the fire, and there was no danger to local communities.
Commissioned in 1981, the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant ceased activities in 2015 after the German government decided to phase out nuclear power. Demolition work started three years later, with the cooling towers taken down in the summer of 2024.