By Reuters Staff (Adds background on new plant) MOSCOW, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A unit of Belarus’s new Astravets nuclear power plant was taken offline on Saturday during testing procedures after the reactor protection system was triggered, the Belarus energy ministry said. It said radiation levels in the area were normal. “The protection system was activated during the pilot industrial operation of Unit 1, as part of which the systems and equipment are currently being tested. Radiation background near the plant is normal,” the ministry’s statement said. The plant, located in northern Belarus, was previously taken offline shortly after being formally inaugurated on Nov. 7 by President Alexander Lukashenko.