nuclear-news

The shocking story of the Flamanville 3 lid 

Monday, July 6, 2026by Bernard   Laponche , Michel Labrousse, https://global-chance.org/L-effarante-histoire-du-couvercle-de-Flamanville-3

EDF has just announced the arrival on site of the new reactor vessel head for the Flamanville EPR (press release of June 16, 2026  [ 1 ] ). This new head is to be installed during the first comprehensive outage (VC1), scheduled to begin in September 2026 and last 350 days.

Why change the reactor vessel head, the reactor’s key component, two years after the EPR’s first criticality (September 3, 2024), and only five months after commercial operation and the completion of the EPR’s start-up tests?

The failure and rupture of the reactor vessel of an EPR-type nuclear reactor, including its head and bottom, are not assumed in the safety demonstration, in accordance with the “exclusion of rupture” principle; no measures are taken to mitigate the consequences of these events, which are assumed not to occur. Consequently, the quality of the steel and the manufacturing process must be impeccable.

As early as 2005, the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) alerted EDF (Électricité de France) that the Creusot Forge plant was experiencing serious quality problems. A major beneficiary of the nuclearization of French electricity production, decided in 1974, Creusot Forge saw its activity decline dangerously in the early 2000s, and the rigor of its manufacturing quality was called into question. The instability of the company’s shareholding between 2003 and 2006 only exacerbated the situation. Despite this, Creusot Forge secured the contract for the reactor vessel head and lid for the Flamanville EPR. The ASN’s warnings went unheeded, and breaches of manufacturing procedures and falsification of quality control documents occurred without the ASN’s knowledge.

However, an anomaly in the composition of the steel used in the EPR reactor vessel, particularly the bottom and the lid, was identified as early as 2006 by AREVA. But this did not prevent the manufacture and installation of the vessel. The decision not to postpone the commissioning of the EPR constitutes a scandal covered up by the promulgation of the so-called “ESPN” decree (order of December 30, 2015), which allowed AREVA and EDF to circumvent regulations.

It was only in April 2014 that the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) made public the non-compliance of the two components crucial to the safety of the EPR, and it was only through an economic compromise in 2018 that the ASN authorized the commissioning and use of the EPR reactor vessel. The ASN’s decision authorizing the commissioning and use of the defective vessel and lid, stipulating that it be replaced before December 31, 2024 (i.e., after six years of service, since the reactor’s commissioning was then planned for 2018… it will only be effective in 2024) had been preceded by a public consultation.

To demonstrate that the ASN’s decision was unjustified and that the public consultation should be cancelled, Global Chance published a note on September 12, 2018, written by Bernard Laponche, entitled:
COMMENTARY ON THE DRAFT DECISION OF THE NUCLEAR SAFETY AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONING AND USE OF THE EPR REACTOR TANK AT THE FLAMANVILLE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT (INB No. 167).
We are republishing Global Chance’s note of September 12, 2018, which remains entirely relevant.

Despite this warning, the ASN’s decision was published on October 9, 2018  [ 2 ] .

When the EPR was officially commissioned on May 7, 2024, by the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), some voices called for a postponement until the new reactor vessel head was available and installed. The aim was to delay commissioning by only a few months, a move EDF, driven by political considerations, refused.

The original reactor vessel head is now a significant source of nuclear waste (approximately one hundred tons) whose storage and treatment conditions are uncertain, as neither EDF nor ORANO has provided any reliable information.

August 22, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | France