EDF must study and justify without delay the hypothesis of an extension of its current reactors beyond 60 years, indicated Monday the president of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) Bernard Doroszczuk, insisting on a necessary "
anticipation
".
"
ASN would like the hypothesis of continued operation of the current reactors up to and beyond 60 years to be studied and justified in advance by EDF by the end of 2024
", affirmed Bernard Doroszczuk, during his wishes to the press.
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This deadline should allow "
an in-depth investigation leading to a position statement by the ASN by the end of 2026 on this possible possibility of continued operation
", while the nuclear fleet is aging.
Most French reactors were built in the 1980s and are approaching forty years, their initially planned operating life.
The nuclear policeman acted in 2021 the principle of extending the life of the oldest beyond 40 years, with works.
Parliament must legislate, at best this summer, on the country's energy objectives, and the share allocated to each type of energy, which will thus allow them to act, or not, on the relaunch of a nuclear program desired by the government.
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In February 2022, Emmanuel Macron announced that he wanted to provide France with six new EPR2 reactors with an option for eight others, to support the exit from fossil fuels and the growth in electricity needs.
For the Chairman of the ASN, “
the reflections and the debate engaged on the new nuclear perspectives must relate to the whole of the fleet and not only to the new reactors
”.
"
In the context of the current debate on nuclear power, the questions of safety and radiation protection must, according to the ASN, be reviewed globally in advance and in a systemic manner for all the nuclear installations
", explained the president of the gendarmerie of the nuclear in France.
The question of a possible extension of the oldest reactors, commissioned at the end of the 1970s and in the 1980s, must be considered "
with at least 10 or 15 years in advance
", i.e. say "
in the next 3 to 4 years
", he explained.
These reflections must also be carried out on "
the operation and the future of the fuel cycle and the management under safe conditions of the associated waste
", underlined Bernard Doroszczuk.
