[Machine translation] The safety of nuclear power plants around the world is worrying overall even if there is no immediate concern, said the president of the French nuclear gendarme (ASN) on Monday, citing the rise of a “systemic risk”. “There are more safety issues, more industrial issues, and on the other side companies that have economic, budgetary and financial difficulties. This gap between more things to manage and fewer means to do so, over time, carries risks per se, “explained Pierre-Franck Chevet during a debate on BFM Business. The President of the Nuclear Safety Authority has described as “unprecedented challenges” the reinforcement of safety in the day-to-day operation of the nuclear power plant, the extension of the life of the power stations (originally designed to operate 40 years) or the investments still to be made at the Japanese Fukushima plant. “My main long-term message is that the situation is of global security concern,” he said. “There is a risk, not immediate at all, for safety, but a systemic risk, and we have to deal with it.”
Boursier 17th Oct 2017 read more »