President of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), Pierre-Franck Chevet, said Thursday that EDF should repair the welding defects on the future EPR Flamanville, a project that will represent “a minimum” few months of job. “Already for the weld defects identified, it must be repaired.I feel that on these defects detected – and I did not say it was the end of what we would ask – nothing it must be a few months of work, “he said. “It is at least a few months of work,” he added to members of the commission of inquiry on the safety and security of nuclear facilities. Defects had been detected at the end of March on welds of the piping of the reactor under construction at Flamanville, whose start is officially scheduled for the end of the year. They concern the pipes of the main secondary circuit, which connect the steam generator and the turbine that produces the electricity. By inspecting the work of its subcontractors, EDF realized that the welds that had been declared compliant actually bore “quality deviations”. The electrician has therefore launched additional controls. “According to the indications, there are about 35% of welds that have defects,” said Mr. Chevet. “There are some for a few weeks … before. EDF also explained last Thursday that it would take a few more weeks of discussions with ASN to draw the conclusions of this dossier – and to have a precise idea of the probable new delays and additional costs. Meanwhile, the group had mentioned a possible delay of “a few months” from the start of the nuclear reactor, potentially until the summer of 2019. The president of the ASN also recalled that there was another problem concerning the weld material quality, which had already been announced.
Romandie 7th June 2018 read more »
