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Released May 22, 2013 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Belgium's nuclear authority has green lit the restart of two nuclear reactors that have been closed over safety concerns since last year.
The Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) has announced that the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors have been cleared for restart after they were shut last summer after ultrasonic inspections discovered tiny cracks in the reactor pressure vessels. For additional information, see August 13, 2013, article - Belgium Shuts Doel 3 Nuclear Reactor.
"After having submitted a detailed action plan, which was approved by the FANC in February, the licensee supplied... two addenda to the Safety Case Reports that included the solutions to each of the FANC's pre-restart requirements," the regulator stated. "After an in-depth study of the results submitted by the licensee, the FANC has confirmed that all of the 11 requirements that had to be met before restart are fulfilled entirely. Hence the FANC considers it safe to restart the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactor units."
In January FANC issued a list of 11 requirements to be met before restart while five more will have to be met after restart.
The plants are owned by Electrabel SA (Brussels, Belgium), which is part of GDF Suez SA (EPA:GSZ) (Paris, France).
Electrabel commented: "Following the discovery last summer of hydrogen flakes in the material of the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactor vessels, Electrabel carried out an extremely profound series of tests and analyses. The company called upon an interdisciplinary team of internal experts, experts from Laborelec and Tractebel Engineering, and external national and international experts, including SCK-CEN and academics. The results of these tests were submitted to the Agency on 15 April this year for Tihange 2 and on 26 April for Doel 3. These complete the findings already submitted on 5 December 2012 and confirm their conclusions: the indications that were found are hydrogen flakes. These arose during the forging stage of the vessels and are stable. The structural integrity and load bearing capacity of the vessels are not affected and meet all the safety criteria."
As a result the company intends to 'immediately initiate' preparation work to restart both units, which it expects to take two to three weeks. A new inspection will also be carried out on both reactors at the end of the first fuel cycle.
Belgium gets more than 50% of its electricity from seven reactors located at the Tihange and Doel plants, all owned and operated by Electrabel. They have a combined generating capacity of more than 5,940-megawatts (MW).
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
The Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) has announced that the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors have been cleared for restart after they were shut last summer after ultrasonic inspections discovered tiny cracks in the reactor pressure vessels. For additional information, see August 13, 2013, article - Belgium Shuts Doel 3 Nuclear Reactor.
"After having submitted a detailed action plan, which was approved by the FANC in February, the licensee supplied... two addenda to the Safety Case Reports that included the solutions to each of the FANC's pre-restart requirements," the regulator stated. "After an in-depth study of the results submitted by the licensee, the FANC has confirmed that all of the 11 requirements that had to be met before restart are fulfilled entirely. Hence the FANC considers it safe to restart the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactor units."
In January FANC issued a list of 11 requirements to be met before restart while five more will have to be met after restart.
The plants are owned by Electrabel SA (Brussels, Belgium), which is part of GDF Suez SA (EPA:GSZ) (Paris, France).
Electrabel commented: "Following the discovery last summer of hydrogen flakes in the material of the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactor vessels, Electrabel carried out an extremely profound series of tests and analyses. The company called upon an interdisciplinary team of internal experts, experts from Laborelec and Tractebel Engineering, and external national and international experts, including SCK-CEN and academics. The results of these tests were submitted to the Agency on 15 April this year for Tihange 2 and on 26 April for Doel 3. These complete the findings already submitted on 5 December 2012 and confirm their conclusions: the indications that were found are hydrogen flakes. These arose during the forging stage of the vessels and are stable. The structural integrity and load bearing capacity of the vessels are not affected and meet all the safety criteria."
As a result the company intends to 'immediately initiate' preparation work to restart both units, which it expects to take two to three weeks. A new inspection will also be carried out on both reactors at the end of the first fuel cycle.
Belgium gets more than 50% of its electricity from seven reactors located at the Tihange and Doel plants, all owned and operated by Electrabel. They have a combined generating capacity of more than 5,940-megawatts (MW).
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
