A crack measuring more than 15 centimeters has been discovered in a pipe of the emergency cooling system of the French nuclear power station in Penly on the English Channel. According to the Paris Nuclear Safety Authority, this is the largest corrosion damage ever discovered in a French nuclear power plant.
The discovery should now lead to thorough assessments of other nuclear power plants in France. The Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN) on Wednesday called on power station operator EDF to “detect possible further cases” and “adapt its control strategy”.
It is therefore a 15.5 centimeter long crack, which corresponds to a quarter of the diameter of the line. It is also 23 millimeters deep with a tube thickness of 27 millimeters. “It’s not a hairline (…), it’s a problem,” ANS chief Bernard Doroszczuk said Wednesday at a Senate hearing.
Crack classified as a level 2 incident
“Because of the potential consequences and the increased likelihood of a rupture,” the authority classified the rupture as a level two accident on the INES scale for the assessment of nuclear events. This poses no danger to people or the environment. Level two incidents are relatively rare, there was just one last year.
The reactor is currently shut down. It should be staged again in May. “The crack appeared in a place where you didn’t expect it,” nuclear expert Yves Marignac told AFP news agency. It is a pipe in the emergency cooling system through which heated water is passed in case of emergency.
“Almost a Leak”
So far, EDF has mainly checked the piping of the emergency cooling system, through which cold water would be fed, Marignac said. The size of the crack is alarming. “It’s almost a leak,” he said.
According to the opinion of the ANS, the crack is due to an error in the construction of the nuclear power plant. “The pipes were bent to be welded, then the welds showed defects and were repaired again,” explains Doroszczuk. This is an “unacceptable course of action”.
According to the Nuclear Safety Authority, operator EDF has now also updated its information on corrosion problems in nuclear reactors in Cattenom, Civaux and Chooz. These were rated by the agency as a level one “incident” on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). Details were not initially known.
Macron wants to build more nuclear power plants
France produced less electricity last year than it had in three decades due to ongoing problems with its aging nuclear reactors. President Emmanuel Macron wants to lay the foundation stone for the first two of six new nuclear reactors to be built in Penly during his tenure.
Source: Krone
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