As of Tuesday this week, 140 extra Belgian troops were guarding the Doel and Tihange nuclear power plants, while the county was put on the maximum Level 4 heightened security status following two deadly terrorist attacks in Brussels that left 34 dead.
Security was beefed up following the morning attacks at the Brussels airport and another at a downtown subway station. The first move, however, was for plant operator Electrabel to send home anyone at the plant who was not essential to keep the electricity flowing.
The Middle Eastern group ISIS has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The power plants, which provide the country with 60 percent of its electricity, had already garnered military security measures following the Paris terror attacks of November 2015. In addition, the seven reactors – three at Tihange and four at Doel – have been increasingly visible in the news given the efforts of neighboring municipalities in Germany and the Netherlands to close the aging plants.
The three pressurized water reactors at Tihange include Unit 1, a 962 MWe reactor that went operational in 1975, and Units 2 and 3, which are 1008 MWe and 1015 MWe reactors that went operational in 1983 and 1985, respectively.
Doel, near the Flemish border in northern Belgium, includes four pressurized water reactors rated at 433 MWe (Units 1 and 2), 1006 MWe (Unit 3) and 1047 MWe (Unit 4). The first two units went online in 1975, while the next two went operational in 1982 and 1985, respectively.
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