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#Nuclear: French nuclear safety authority demand further safety checks on #HinkleyPoint type plant in France

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Illustrative view of twin reactors Hinkley Point C

In April 2015, the French national authority for nuclear safety (ASN) made public the discovery of an anomaly in the composition of the steel in certain zones of the vessel closure head and the vessel bottom head of the Flamanville EPR reactor. This is the same type of reactor that has recently been approved in the UK, Hinkley Point C. Today the same authority announced that it will carry out inspections on  5 reactors at the Flammanville plant.
The UK has just recently agreed to go forward with the construction of a similar plant in the UK. The decision has been surrounded with controversy for some time with calls for the project to be halted on the basis of cost, security and safety.
Inspections performed by EDF at ASN’s request since 2015 conclude that certain channel heads of the steam generators manufactured by Areva Creusot Forge or JCFC, contain a significant carbon concentration zone which could lead to lower than expected mechanical properties. These steam generators equip 18 reactors, of these reactors, 12 are equipped with channel heads manufactured by JCFC liable to contain a particularly high carbon concentration.

EDF has provided ASN with data aiming to demonstrate the operating safety of the 12 reactors concerned. Further to the analysis carried out with the support of IRSN (the French national expert body on nuclear and radiological risks) and after technical discussions with EDF, ASN has concluded that additional inspections should be carried out within three months, without waiting for the scheduled refuelling outage of these reactors. The purpose of these inspections will be to verify whether each of the channel heads concerned is in conformity with the EDF's analysis.

With the support of IRSN, ASN is also examining the substantiating data transmitted by EDF. This examination will take several weeks, or possibly longer, if additions are required to the file transmitted.

 

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