The schedule presented by EDF to control welds at risk of cracks in its nuclear reactors, presented in mid-March, was deemed "
appropriate
" by the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), according to press releases from the two entities.
The black series for the electrician began in October 2021 with the discovery of a micro-crack in one of its most recent and powerful power plants, a phenomenon called "
stress corrosion
".
EDF had been forced to launch a major control and repair plan, reviewed last December, which led to the shutdown of many reactors in the midst of an energy crisis.
But EDF had to revise its control program again after the discovery of a new, very large crack in a pipe of reactor number one at the Penly power plant, in Seine-Maritime (west).
The electrician had submitted his new battle plan to ASN in mid-March.
Read alsoNuclear: EDF ordered to “revise its strategy” after the discovery of a new crack
90% of repaired welds checked before 2024
"
In mid-March, ASN took note of this amended strategy, which includes tighter controls on repaired welds, while asking that the technical dialogue continue, in order to ensure the relevance of the timetable envisaged for the checks on priority welds
”, reminded the ASN in a press release published on Tuesday.
"
Following these exchanges, the ASN considers this timetable to be appropriate
", she indicated.
Wednesday morning, EDF welcomed in a press release the fact that the ASN “
indicated that it considered appropriate the schedule envisaged for the checks on the priority welds
”.
"
To date, the estimate of nuclear production in France for 2023 remains in the 300-330 TWh range
", indicates the group.
ASN recalls that according to this schedule, "
90% of the repaired welds identified as a priority by EDF due to their repair conditions will thus be checked before the end of 2023, and all of these welds will be here the first quarter of 2024
”.
The Authority specifies that the "
technical exchanges
" with EDF "
focused more particularly on the reactors which have (...) welds whose control is considered a priority
", i.e. reactor 1 of the Nogent-sur-Seine power plant and reactor 2 of the Cruas power plant.
“
Operating measures will be implemented
” on these two reactors “
until their scheduled shutdowns, scheduled for September 2023
”.
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