Unexploded WWI shell found outside Belgian nuclear reactor, safely removed by military

FILE - In this March 16, 2011 file photo, steam is emitted from the cooling tower at the nuclear power plant in Tihange, Southeast of Brussels. A Belgian utility company said on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 that an unexploded World War I shell was found on the grounds of the nuclear power plant but was safely removed by military experts. An Electrabel spokeswoman said the shell was found during construction work Wednesday in front of an administrative building outside the reactor’s fenced security perimeter. Staff were briefly evacuated. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe, File) (The Associated Press)

586fedcb-Belgium Nuclear Reactor War Shell

FILE - In this March 16, 2011 file photo, workers end their shift at the nuclear power plant in Tihange, southeast of Brussels. A Belgian utility company said on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 that an unexploded World War I shell was found on the grounds of the nuclear power plant but was safely removed by military experts. An Electrabel spokeswoman said the shell was found during construction work Wednesday in front of an administrative building outside the reactor’s fenced security perimeter. Staff were briefly evacuated. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe, File) (The Associated Press)

BRUSSELS – A Belgian utility says an unexploded World War I shell was found on the grounds of a nuclear power plant but was safely removed by military experts.

Electrabel spokeswoman Anne-Sophie Huge said the shell was found during drainage work Wednesday in front of an administrative building outside a reactor's fenced security perimeter.

She said about 20 staff members in the office building were evacuated until a bomb squad removed the shell.

The spokeswoman could not say how close the shell was to the Tihange reactors' secured area or provide details on its size.

She said the two on-line reactors at the site, near the town of Huy southeast of Brussels, continued to operate normally.