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Radioactive water alert.
A tritium leak was detected at the Bugey power plant, the oldest in operation, located 30 kilometers east of Lyon, EDF said in a press release.
This radioactive isotope of hydrogen is found in the effluents leaving the reactor.
The tritiated water is usually recovered and directed via a network of concrete pipes to temporary storage tanks where its radioactivity decreases before being discharged into the Rhône upon authorization.
But on December 7 and 12, 2022, tritium was detected in a quantity well above the threshold of 100 Bq/L in one of the Bugey power plant's control wells.
Rates of 535 Bq / L and 618 Bq / L were measured, indicates EDF which declared the incident - classified level 0 on Ines (the international scale of nuclear and radiological events) - to the nuclear police on January 13.
The latter specifies that a second piezometer reached the maximum value of 814 Bq/L on 1 February.
Piping network and bad weather
The nuclear policeman also indicates that the results on the other piezometers
“show that this event has limited consequences”
.
He assures that
“no groundwater contamination has been demonstrated outside the site”
.
Concerning the groundwater affected, EDF stresses that they are not subject to any direct use (drinking, agricultural, livestock).
And to ensure that the levels fell below the thresholds at the level of the first well, from January 6.
According to the investigations carried out by EDF, the event was due "
to the overflow, on November 10, 2022, of one of the sumps collecting rainwater and effluents collected in retention, part of the effluents having then reached the piping network in concrete
", indicates the ASN.
The Nuclear Sortir network points out the time between “
the date of the incident and its detection
”.
"
The monitoring of the environment carried out by EDF is not suitable
", according to the collective.
The nuclear policeman specifies that the operator sent him “
an action plan including in particular a verification of the state of the underground network connecting some of the retentions concerned
”.
EDF evokes an “
operating hazard
”, where Joël Guerry, from the Nuclear Exit network, castigates a “
lack of maintenance
”.
“There are hundreds of kilometers of piping under the site and, if those in the reactor core are closely monitored, the rest is very old, with fairly regular leaks
”.
Five in recent years, including one that resulted in EDF being fined 3,000 euros.