The decision was finally made.
A reactor at the Taishan EPR (in southern China, not far from Macao and Hong Kong) was "shut down for maintenance," the Chinese operator in charge of the site said on Friday.
"The Taishan nuclear power plant (...) making safety its first priority (...) decided to shut down reactor 1 for maintenance, in order to find the cause of the damage affecting the fuel and to replace the damaged fuel", a- he said in a press release.
A decision taken "after a substantial discussion between Chinese and French technical staff".
In mid-June, the country's authorities reported a leak at reactor number 1 of the EPR - the only one in operation in the world, produced in partnership with the French EDF and commissioned between 2018 and 2019. It was linked refueling carried out in 2020. A small number of damaged uranium fuel rods ("rods") caused an accumulation of radioactive rare gases in the primary, sealed circuit of the power plant.
The authorities had described the phenomenon as "current" and ruled out any danger.
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A month later, EDF, a partner in the project, declared that if a similar situation occurred in France, it would shut down the reactor, to investigate and avoid further damage.
"In view of the analyzes carried out, EDF's procedures for operating the French nuclear fleet would lead EDF, in France, to shut down the reactor in order to precisely characterize the phenomenon in progress and stop its development", indicated the electrician in a statement.
"In Taishan, the corresponding decisions belong to TNPJVC", the operator of the site, adds the French company, which holds 30% alongside the Chinese CGN (70%), and provided the EPR technology.
"Evolutionary nature" of the situation
"According to the data available to EDF, the radiochemical parameters of the water in the primary circuit remain below the regulatory thresholds in force at the Taishan power station, thresholds which are consistent with international practices," noted EDF.
However, the data available on the lack of tightness of the fuel rods show "an evolving nature", revealed by the presence of rare gases, he added.
This stop, "as soon as possible", "rather in a preventive way", has "several objectives", it was explained: "To stop the evolution of the degradation of the fuel cladding, which has leaks.
Then understand the causes of this loss of seal by carrying out inspections on damaged rods ”.
“The shutdown would also make it possible to limit the radiological activity in the water of the primary circuit, and thereby limit the extent of the cleaning or decontamination operations of this circuit, which will be necessary to return to a reference state.
It is also a question of offering better conditions of intervention for the personnel, to limit their exposure during the next shutdown but also possibly during several cycles ”, one added at EDF.
According to the operator CGN, the shutdown of the reactor is not the result of imminent danger.
The fuel damage "remains within the allowable range of technical specifications" and the reactor could "have continued to operate stably," according to the group.
