The CEO of Electricité de France, Luc Remont, at the Penly nuclear power plant in Petit-Caux, on the Channel coast, December 9, 2022 (AFP/Lou BENOIST)
The Environmental Authority recommended that EDF significantly review its copy on the impact study of the preparatory work for the construction of two new EPR2 type reactors on the Penly site (Manche) and their operation, according to a published opinion Friday.
This independent authority, whose mission is to provide opinions on the environmental impact of road or energy projects in particular, states from the outset that it has not assessed the nuclear safety of the site.
But she believes that the main environmental issues of this project are, during the work phase, the health of populations, noise in particular, as well as the preservation of the natural environment and biodiversity.
During the operation phase, the issues will be “the risks of harm to the population and the environment linked to radiological, thermal and chemical releases as well as the production of nuclear waste and greenhouse gas emissions for the entire nuclear sector.
In these respects, several elements are missing or must be completed in the impact study, according to the Authority.
She regrets, for example, that the impact study did not take into account the restoration of the site if the project does not succeed or when it will no longer be exploited.
While the project plans to artificialize 24 hectares of seabed, the Authority recommends presenting avoidance, reduction and, if necessary, compensation measures.
The Authority also issues several recommendations for the operation phase, such as reducing the “proposed standards for discharge of certain pollutants, in particular hydrazine, detergents, organohalogens and residual oxidants, whenever it has not been demonstrated that there is no impact of their discharge on the marine environment.”
It also recommends “resuming in depth the study of the impacts of the project” on the four Natura 2000 sites surrounding the site.
© 2023 AFP
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