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Released January 23, 2017 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--French energy major Électricité de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris, France) has been cleared to restart nine nuclear reactors following investigations into the quality of steel used in key components.
The country's nuclear regulator, Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN), approved the restart as part of its investigations into 12 reactors that may have been affected by a carbon concentration anomaly in the steam generator channel heads manufactured by Japan Casting and Forging Corporation (JCFC). High concentrations of carbon can weaken the steel and potentially lead to nuclear accidents. France gets about three-quarters of its power from 58 nuclear reactors, all operated by EDF.
ASN said that the restart was approved "following its examination of the results of the inspections carried out and the technical demonstrations provided by EDF for the 900-megawatt (MW) reactors." The reactors coming back online are Bugey 4; Dampierre 3; Fessenheim 1; Gravelines 2 and 4; Saint-Laurent B1; and Tricastin 1, 3 and 4. A further three reactors are still undergoing tests.
"On 7th April 2015, 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," ASN stated. "The detection of this anomaly led ASN to ask AREVA SA (EPA:AREVA) (Paris, France) and EDF to learn all possible lessons from this event. Three processes are currently under way:"
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The country's nuclear regulator, Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN), approved the restart as part of its investigations into 12 reactors that may have been affected by a carbon concentration anomaly in the steam generator channel heads manufactured by Japan Casting and Forging Corporation (JCFC). High concentrations of carbon can weaken the steel and potentially lead to nuclear accidents. France gets about three-quarters of its power from 58 nuclear reactors, all operated by EDF.
ASN said that the restart was approved "following its examination of the results of the inspections carried out and the technical demonstrations provided by EDF for the 900-megawatt (MW) reactors." The reactors coming back online are Bugey 4; Dampierre 3; Fessenheim 1; Gravelines 2 and 4; Saint-Laurent B1; and Tricastin 1, 3 and 4. A further three reactors are still undergoing tests.
"On 7th April 2015, 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," ASN stated. "The detection of this anomaly led ASN to ask AREVA SA (EPA:AREVA) (Paris, France) and EDF to learn all possible lessons from this event. Three processes are currently under way:"
- on other components of the EDF reactors, the search for technical anomalies similar to that detected on the Flamanville EPR vessel. This search enabled EDF to identify similar anomalies on the channel heads of certain steam generators;
- manufacturing quality reviews on parts in the Areva NP manufacturing plants, which enabled Areva NP to detect irregularities in the manufacturing files from Creusot Forge;
- initiation of a review of BNI licensee monitoring of their contractors and subcontractors, of ASN oversight and of the alert mechanisms.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
