Ségolène Royal: the Flamanville EPR “is not condemned” – Le Point

The construction of the EPR at Flamanville (Manche) “is not condemned,” said Sunday Ségolène Royal, Speaking of simple “work adjustments” to make about the manufacturing anomaly detected on the tank of the third generation nuclear reactor built by EDF and Areva. Asked about the channel France 5 on the future of the Flamanville EPR after the anomaly “serious” production revealed by the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), the Minister of Ecology and Energy said “No, he is not convicted EDF communicated to say that the opening would probably be delayed by a year.”.

For its part, EDF reiterated in a statement released in the evening that “in the present state of information available,” the “site of the Flamanville EPR continues.” “The French can rest assured in the sense that the ASN tells it,” said the minister, touting a “transparent French system (…) and that’s still an amazing progress.” “This allows the Parliament to the hearings, the government to require assessments, additional tests, Areva has agreed to do,” she continued.

An anomaly “serious”

“These are extremely complex work (…) and as in all industrial jobs, even those conducted outside the nuclear industry, there are adjustments course work, “pleaded Ségolène Royal. According to Minister of Ecology, “the clarification is made, things are said, there is a further examinations, tests will take place, the results of which will be released in the fall, and then the work will resume. ” The manufacturing anomaly detected on the tank of the Flamanville EPR was “serious”, said Wednesday Pierre-Franck Chevet, president of the ASN, noting that this independent administrative authority intends to forge a “strong belief” before to decide on the case.

The anomaly concerns the composition of the steel and cover the bottom of the reactor vessel. Areva, which manufactured the tank should offer additional tests to determine the “importance of the anomaly, trying to qualify and see what impact it has on the safety potential,” according to the president of the ASN. This represents “a lot of work for several months.”