Romanian nuclear plant: second reactor turned on

The second nuclear reactor at a plant in eastern Romania was switched on Monday, and will be fully functioning by the end of September, officials said.

Over the next few months, there will be a series of safety tests with the reactor, said Teodor Chirica, general manager of the National Nuclear Electric Company.

The first reactor at the Cernavoda plant near the Danube River was turned on 10 years ago and it provides about 10 percent of Romania's electricity needs.

The two reactors together will provide about 18 percent of the country's electricity, Chirica said.

The second reactor was built under a contract signed with the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and ANSALDO-Italia.