The Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) announced on Wednesday that it had given EDF formal notice to update the internal emergency plan for its Flamanville plant (Manche), a decision that follows an unannounced inspection in January.
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"
So that its new internal emergency plan can be operational by October 16, 2021 at the latest
" for reactors 1 and 2 at Flamanville, "
EDF is called upon to send
" to ASN "
by April 16 at the latest. 2021, the update of its internal emergency plan established in accordance
with the regulations, according to the decision available on the website of the nuclear gendarme.
Failure of the crisis exercise
This formal notice follows in particular the “
shortcomings
” observed by ASN during an unannounced inspection of the plant on the night of January 11 to 12, consisting of a crisis exercise.
The inspectors then noted that EDF had not responded "
efficiently and quickly to a
simulated
emergency situation
", according to the inspection follow-up letter.
EDF has since sent letters to ASN on the subject on February 9 and 22.
But the company "does
not provide satisfactory answers
", according to the formal notice.
In these letters the group undertakes in particular to "
carry out an exercise before April 30, 2021
", and another during the second half of 2021, according to the same source.
The formal notice "
may be referred to the Council of State by EDF within two months of its notification date
", according to ASN.
During the January inspection, ASN in particular "
noted a late warning period for the authorities
".
EDF had taken nearly two hours to warn the prefecture that an internal emergency plan had been triggered as part of the exercise, according to the nuclear gendarme.
Reactor 1 at the Flamanville power plant is shut down for maintenance and is due to restart on March 31, a date that has been postponed many times.
Reactor 2 restarted on December 12 after 23 months of maintenance shutdown and derogations from the general operating regulations.
The shutdown was initially scheduled to last six months.
The Flamanville plant will be the subject of a “
peer review
”
from March 8 to 26
by around thirty international experts from the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), according to EDF.
A third reactor is under construction at Flamanville, of the EPR type.
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