A corrosion problem has also emerged in a reactor at Penly nuclear power station in Normandy. The defects are similar to those already found in the two reactors in Civaux and suspected in the two by Chooz. All four are of the N4 type, Penly is of the successor type EPR and thus the first reactor of a different design to be affected by the problem.
In Block 1 of the Civaux nuclear power plant, “several faults” were found in the weld seams of the safety injection system during the inspection, which takes place every ten years. Block 2 was then checked and similar defects were found there, EDF announced in mid-December 2021. Therefore, due to the corrosion that has occurred on pipe welds, Civaux will remain shut down longer than planned after the routine inspection, Chooz was shut down as a precaution, as these inspections are only possible when the reactor is shut down.
EDF keeps looking
EDF has since announced that it found the same problem in a Chooz reactor. “We don’t know if there are problems elsewhere. The EDF is in the process of checking all its data from previous controls,” said Karine Herviou of the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), according to the AFP news agency.
Unit 1 of the Penly nuclear power plant was last shut down from mid-May to mid-October 2020 due to a partial overhaul and refueling. Unit 2 there went offline from mid-April to early June 2021 for maintenance and a fuel change. In France, 10 of the 56 nuclear reactors installed there are currently not in operation for various reasons. This corresponds to about 20 percent of France’s nuclear energy capacity. In November 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the construction of new nuclear power plants.
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