Norwegian nuclear reactor shut down after alarm

The incident occurred at 3:00 am when an alarm was triggered, setting in motion mandatory safety procedures.

A nuclear research reactor in Norway had to be shut down in the early hours on Saturday morning after an alarm signal sounded, the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) announced on Saturday.

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In a statement, the agency said no radiation leak had been detected around the building housing the reactor at a technical institute in Kjeller, some 25 kilometers from Oslo.

The incident occurred at 3:00 am when an alarm was triggered, setting in motion mandatory safety procedures.

"The situation is under control, (the reactor) is shut down and all the emergency measures have been taken," Ingar Amundsen, an adviser at the NRPA said.

"Elevated levels of radioactivity" were detected "in (the) primary circuit" of the reactor, Amundsen said, but confirmed there was "no leakage" outside the building.

Norway has no nuclear power plants, but two small research reactors used for medical research.

Amundsen said the cause of the incident was so far unknown, but that it might have been due to a leak in a nuclear fuel rod.