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Réseau "Sortir du nucléaire"
French Nuclear Phaseout Network
Revelations from an EDF insider : EPR reactor prone to major nuclear
accident risk!
*The French Network for Nuclear Phase-out (Réseau "Sortir du nucléaire")
reveals confidential documents disclosed by an anonymous insider from
EDF (Electricité de France, the main French power utility). These
documents show that the design of the EPR presents a serious risk of a
major nuclear accident - a risk deliberately taken by EDF to increase
its profitability. Because it is potentially vulnerable to a situation
which could have uncontrollable consequences, the EPR reactor is
extremely dangerous.
Download the confidential documents (in French) from :
http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/index.php?menu=actualites&sousmenu=dossiers&sou
ssousmenu=EPRrevelations&page=index
"Sortir du nucléaire" has set up a group of experts to analyse these
recently received documents thoroughly. Here are the first lessons we
can learn from them, which are of the utmost importance.
Some operating modes could cause the EPR reactor to explode because of
a control rod cluster ejection accident (these control rod clusters
moderate the nuclear reaction). These operating modes are mainly related
to an objective of economic efficiency, requiring the power of the
reactor to adapt to electricity demand. Thus, in order to find a
hypothetical economic justification for the EPR, its designers chose to
take the very real risk of a major nuclear accident. Moreover, most of
the arguments given in favour of the EPR (power, efficiency, waste
reduction and safety) have been proved to be false.
EDF and Areva (the leader of the French nuclear industry) have tried to
find a solution to the problems related to the operating mode of the
reactor: these efforts have failed preventing those kinds of accidents.
The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has apparently been kept in
the dark about these issues.
So the EPR reactor design seems to increase the risk of a Chernobyl-type
accident, which would lead to the destruction of the confinement and
mass dispersion of radionuclides in the atmosphere.
*On March 8th and 9th, Paris hosts an international meeting to encourage
65 countries to acquire nuclear technology. This meeting will be opened
by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and chaired by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano. It is
outrageous that France keeps on promoting nuclear power in general and
the EPR reactor in particular, as the danger of this reactor has now
been demonstrated. The construction of the EPR in Finland, France and
China must be stopped immediately, and the planned project in Penly
(France) cancelled. The best way to prevent nuclear accidents is indeed
to phase out nuclear power and go for renewable energies.
*
The accident scenario in detail:
According to calculations by EDF and Areva, the reactor's RIP (Instant
Return to Power) control mode and the control rod cluster configuration
can induce a rod ejection accident during low-power operation, and lead
to the rupture of the control rod drive casing (i). This rupture would
cause the coolant to leak outside the nuclear reactor vessel. Such a
loss of coolant accident (LOCA - a very serious type of nuclear
accident) would damage a large number of fuel rods by heating fuel
pellets and claddings (ii), and thus cause the release of highly
radioactive steam into the containment. So there is a great risk of a
criticality accident resulting in an explosion (iii), the reactor power
being increased in an extremely brutal way. Following the ejection of
control rod clusters during low-power operation, the reactor emergency
shutdown may fail (iv). Whatever the configuration of the control rod
clusters, a rod ejection accident induces a high rate of broken fuel
rods and therefore a high risk of a criticality accident (v).
For more details, see the documents disclosed by an anonymous EDF source
(especially document No. 1) on our website:
http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/index.php?menu=actualites&sousmenu=dossiers&sou
ssousmenu=EPRrevelations&page=index
Press Contacts:
English-speaking Media: Steven Mitchell, + 33 (0) 9 52 49 50 22
German-speaking Media: Jean-Yvon Landrac, + 33 (0) 6 87 30 41 10
Marc Saint-Aroman, +33 (0) 5 61 35 11 06
Charlotte Mijeon, +33 (0) 6 75 36 20 20
Nuclear physicists: Monique and Raymond Sené, +33 (0) 1 60 10 03 49
Documents to download:
1 - Summary - "Une technologie explosive : l'EPR" (anonymous and undated)
2 - "Bilan de la phase préliminaire de l'étude d'EDG FA3 et
perspectives"(EDF SEPTEN May 2009)
3 - "EPR -- Gestion combustible -- Lot 1 -- Revue de conception du
schéma de grappes FA3 du 25/10/2007"
4 --"EPR FA3 -- Synthèse de l'étude de faisabilité de l'accident
d'éjection de grappe" (EDF SEPTEN September 2007)
5 - "EPR FA3- Synthèse des voies de sortie de la problématique éjection
de grappe" (EDF SEPTEN July 2007)
6 -- Working paper: "Présentation synthétique de l'EPR" (EDF SEPTEN
April 2004)
7 - "Note de présentation de la deuxième revue de projet radioprotection
EPR" (EDF, Spring 2004)
8 - "Marges disponibles pour les activités d'exploitation du REP par
rapport aux risques de criticité" (EDF SEPTEN April 2009)
Notes :
i See. paragraph 6.1.6 Document No. 4
ii Cf. Table 3, Document No. 4
iii See Document n°4, Document n°5 Part 2, « Rapport Préliminaire de
Sûreté EPR 15.2.4.e »
iv See Document n°2, note 9
v See Document n°2, note 8.2.1
--
Charlotte Mijeon
International Relations Representative
+ 33 6 75 36 20 20
Réseau "Sortir du nucléaire" / French Nuclear Phaseout Network
Federation gathering 872 NGOs and organizations
www.sortirdunucleaire.org
www.dont-nuke-the-climate.org
www.chernobyl-day.org
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