The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has ordered EDF to suspend construction of the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) at Flamanville after discovering irregularities in concrete quality compliance.
The ASN has asked EDF to prepare an action plan to address the quality issues as well as improve its surveillance of works and suppliers at the site in France. It observed the irregularities during site visits held in April.
EDF has reported that it brought the anomalies in the reinforcement of concrete to the attention of the inspectors several days before their visit. The quality issues were discovered during tests carried out by EDF and Buoygues, its civil engineering contractor, according to the French utility.
The temporary halt to construction work is a blow to the EPR programme and to EDF, which is hoping to construct several new nuclear power plants in the UK as well as gain control of British Energy, the UK’s main nuclear energy generator.
The world’s first EPR project, which is being constructed in Finland, has suffered repeated delays, caused in part by problems with concrete quality.
EDF says that the issues at Flamanville, which is due to be commissioned 2012, are “very localised” and will have no impact on safety.
During its inspection of the Flamanville site, the ASN observed that there was a lack of formal checks of the concreting process. It also noted issues relating to concrete blending as well as a lack of precision in the management of the concrete plants.
The first pouring of concrete at the site took place in December 2007
