http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11546271/New-UK-nuclear-plants-under-threat-as-serious-anomaly-with-model-found-in-France.html
[The EPR was one of the leading lights in the 'new generation' of
fission reactors touted by the industry as solving the inherent problems
of old style reactors. Apparently it introduces new problems as well.
images in on-line article]
New UK nuclear plants under threat as 'serious anomaly' with model found
in France
"Very serious anomaly" found in reactor vessel in France's Flamanville
EPR nuclear plant, the same model Britain plans to use for two new
plants at Hinkley Point
By Henry Samuel, Paris
6:55PM BST 17 Apr 2015
A €9 billion (£6.5bn) new-generation French nuclear power plant – the
same model sold to Britain – may have to be scrapped due to a faulty
steel reactor vessel at risk of splitting.
It was supposed to be France's atomic energy showcase abroad, but the
European Pressurised Reactor, or EPR, is threatening to turn into a
nuclear nightmare with an astronomical price tag.
Designed to be the safest reactors in the world and among the most
energy-efficient, the EPR has suffered huge delays in models under
construction in France, Finland and China.
This week, Areva informed the French nuclear regulator that "very
serious" anomalies had been detected in the reactor vessel steel of an
EPR plant under construction in Flamanville, northern France, causing
"lower than expected mechanical toughness values".
Pierre-Franck Chevet, president of France's nuclear safety authority
(ASN), told Le Parisien the anomalies were in the "base and lid" of the
vessel, which is "an absolutely crucial component of the nuclear reactor
on which no risk of breakage can be taken".
The vessel houses the plant's nuclear fuel and confines its radioactivity.
The plant was already running five years later and costs have tripled.
French state-owned Areva is contracted to provide two of its EPRs to
Hinkley Point in Somerset station, a development the European Commission
estimates will cost £24.5 billion.
EDF, the majority French state-owned energy group, is in the final
phase of negotiations with the British government on building the two
plants in Britain, which on February it said would be "possible in the
next few months".
Mr Chevet confirmed that the same "production process" as for
Flamanville had been used on reactor vessels destined for the
British-based plants, along with two in China and one in Calvert Cliffs,
Maryland, in America.
He said while it was not impossible to remove the Flamanville vessel,
the works there were "very advanced" as it had been placed in a concrete
well.
If the ASN considers the vessel too risky, EDF will either have to
"abandon construction" or build a replacement vessel, which will be
"very significant in terms of costs and time" as it takes three years to
put together.
"Errors have been made," he said, adding that France risked losing its
nuclear expertise as the "last nuclear plant built in the country dates
back 15 years".
"If the weakness of the vessel is confirmed, I wouldn't hold out much
hope for EPR's survival," a former nuclear safety official told Le Parisien.
Yannick Rousselet of Greenpeace insisted the latest problem was "coup de
grace" for EPR.
EDF and Areva declined to comment, but the Elysée Palace remained upbeat.
"The results of more precise tests are expected in October. In the
meantime, the work on Flamanville continues".
_______________________________________________
Sustainablelorgbiofuel mailing list
Sustainablelorgbiofuel@lists.sustainablelists.org
http://lists.eruditium.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel