Five years after the 900 MW reactors, it is the turn of the 1,300 MW facilities to be the subject of public consultation. The High Committee for Transparency and Information on Nuclear Safety (HCTISN) began a consultation on Thursday morning on the conditions for the continued operation of the 1,300 MW reactors after 40 years. “Les 20 réacteurs de 1300 MW en France on atteint pour certains l’âge de 40 ans, explaine la présidente du HCTISN Christine Noiville. 40 years.”
The aim of this consultation is therefore to allow the public to express their views on this issue ahead of public consultations which will begin in a few years as part of the fourth ten-year visitation cycle. “It was useful five years ago, it is much more so today, given the unprecedented context in terms of energy policy with the massive relaunch of nuclear energy, the reform of nuclear safety, the phenomenon of stress corrosion and climate change that challenges infrastructure,” underlines Christine Noiville.
A concern for transparency
The different actors of the consultation were present on the occasion, from the operator EDF to the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) and the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), through the National Association of Local Information Committees and Commissions (ANCCLI). During this consultation, which will last until June 30, the French will have the opportunity to access a digital platform (www.concertation.suretenucleaire.fr) that will provide them with documentary resources as well as a space for expression and the calendar of events. Various meetings, public gatherings and workshops will be organized at national and local levels to discuss with stakeholders.
In total, there are eight nuclear power plants: Cattenom, Paluel-Penly, Flamanville, Nogent-sur-Seine, Belleville sur Loire, Saint-Alban and Golfech. The territory of Flamanville will open the meeting in a month, on February 20, while Saint-Alban will host one on March 11. “Our fellow citizens want to be actors in the energy of tomorrow and increasingly want to participate in decisions that affect their territory,” explains Jean-Claude Delalonde of ANCCLI. More and more French take a positive view of nuclear energy and its role in the energy mix of tomorrow […] But concern persists about this acceleration of nuclear energy, which should not be detrimental to security and transparency.”
EDF takes into account the results of the query
Under the next ten-year inspections, which will run from 2026 to 2034, the reactors will carry out a volume of work six times greater than during the third inspection cycle. For EDF, the objective is to achieve a level of safety in these second generation reactors comparable to that of third generation facilities. “It is about avoiding lasting contamination of the territories in the event of a nuclear accident or significantly reinforcing the robustness of the facility against attacks, especially climatic ones,” quotes Etienne Dutheil. The director of EDF’s nuclear production division assures that the energy company “takes into account the results of the consultation” within the framework of periodic reviews (Editor’s note: decennial visits).
The Nuclear Safety Authority sets the objectives and ambitions of these reviews and then the operator EDF formulates proposals. In parallel with the consultation, the ASN will continue to examine these proposals until 2025 and will take into account the conclusions of the consultation. It will then write its report and make a decision on areas of improvement for the nuclear reactors in question and present a timetable for carrying out the work.
Source: BFM TV
