The French Nuclear Safety Authority has granted approval to continue construction of the Epr reactor at Flamanville. Greenpeace: “Contradictory”.
"Excellent news." Laurent Thieffry, director of the Flamanville construction site in France, where the new Epr nuclear reactor belonging to Edf is being built, greeted with a sigh of relief the go-ahead granted to the plant by the French Nuclear Safety Authority (Asn). The Authority has indeed approved, albeit on a preliminary basis and subject to certain conditions, the continuation of work, after two years of tests made necessary following the discovery – at the end of 2014 – of certain anomalies in the bottom and upper sections of the reactor's containment structure.
For this reason, as early as spring 2015 Asn president Pierre-Franck Chevet had raised the issue during a hearing before the Paris Senate, stating in no uncertain terms: "The problem identified is very serious. It involves one of the main components of the structure." This is indeed an element designed to contain the reactor core: the fundamental barrier that, in the event of an accident, must protect the environment from radioactivity.
Nevertheless, the French authority has ruled that the containment structure may be used, but only during the plant's initial years of operation. During this period, Edf will be required to carry out special inspections "in order to ensure the absence of further signs of anomalies" on the base of the structure. But since, for technical reasons, it is not possible to monitor the upper section in the same way, the Asn has ordered that the entire component be replaced by the end of 2024.
An operation whose cost – taking into account the dimensions of the structure as well: 425 tonnes, eleven metres tall and five in diameter – has been estimated at around 100 million euros. All to be borne by the French public company. The containment structure must in fact withstand not only radiation, but also potentially extreme temperatures and pressure. "The steel in the structure – Yves Marignac, director of Wise-Paris, an institute specialising in energy sector research, explained to the daily 20Minutes – should normally contain 0.2 per cent carbon. In this case we are at 0.3: it might seem a trifle, but it is enough to halve the mechanical integrity and therefore the degree of safety."
It is for this reason that French environmental organisations have strongly criticised the Asn's decision. Yannick Rousselet, director of Greenpeace's nuclear campaign, spoke of contradictions: "On the one hand, the Authority is asking for the containment structure to be replaced because it is not safe and acknowledges the problems with the technical checks to be carried out. On the other, it authorises the reactor to operate at full capacity."
According to the activist, economic interests ultimately prevailed: "Edf and Areva had their backs against the wall. A no from the Asn would have created a domino effect: the other Epr reactors planned at Hinkley Point in the United Kingdom, at Olkiluoto in Finland, and in China would also have collapsed. It would have meant the end of the French nuclear supply chain." For this reason Greenpeace has launched an appeal to the new Minister of Ecology, Nicolas Hulot to intervene and halt construction.
The Nuclear Safety Authority's final opinion is expected next October. In the meantime, the Flamanville plant construction site has already fallen six years behind schedule, while costs have already reached 10.5 billion euros.
