nuclear-news

Nuclear reactor: a deep crack discovered at Penly 1 risks destabilizing EDF

Nuclear reactor: a deep crack discovered at Penly 1 risks destabilizing
EDF. A new “stress corrosion” problem found by the the company on a
shutdown reactor in Seine-Maritime could have significant repercussions,
due to its size and location.

The discovery could have serious consequences
for EDF. The company detected a major crack on a weld of an emergency
circuit of a shutdown reactor, Penly 1, in Seine-Maritime, a new problem
for the energy giant whose nuclear fleet is heavily disturbed since 2021 by
these phenomena.

In a note, which went unnoticed until its media coverage
on Tuesday by the Context site , EDF mentioned having detected a
“significant stress corrosion defect” on an emergency pipe used to cool
the reactor in an emergency. For Yves Marignac, ” the fact that larger
cracks are possible raises the question of keeping the 6 reactors of the
same type P’4″ in operation while awaiting their preventive repair” ,
announced in December by EDF for the current year 2023.

Liberation 8th March 2023

https://www.liberation.fr/environnement/nucleaire/reacteur-nucleaire-une-profonde-fissure-decouverte-a-penly-1-risque-de-destabiliser-edf-20230308_RMGJM6B7J5ENHLF5KIPT7XP3FQ/

March 10, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, safety