crack discovered at the Penly power plant, “it’s a serious problem” alerts the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety

“It’s a serious problem affecting its reactors”, reacted on Tuesday March 7 on franceinfo Karine Herviou, the deputy director general of the Institute for radiation protection and nuclear safety (IRSN). The Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has asked EDF to revise its strategy for controlling corrosion problems in certain reactors, after the discovery of a major crack on a circuit at the Penly power plant in Seine-Maritime.

“It’s a particularly deep crack”says Karine Herviou. “It is 23 millimeters on a thickness of pipe which is 27. We were therefore quite close to a leak.” This crack is located on the cooling circuit, responsible for injecting water into the reactor core in the event of an incident. The Deputy Director General of IRSN specifies that if there had been a leak, it would be limited to “containment enclosure”. Karine Herviou adds that “Compensatory measures have been taken by EDF to detect these leaks as soon as possible, so as to shut down the reactor immediately”.

15 reactors shut down since 2021

Since 2021, fifteen reactors have been shut down because of this type of crack. “EDF undertook to check all of its fleet and the pipes considered to be ‘sensitive'”, recalls Karine Herviou. However, the piping of the Penly power station was considered “as ‘non-susceptible’ to cracking, so it had no priority in the inspection”.

“EDF will therefore have to review its strategy and control a little more extensively its pipes likely to be affected”, adds the Deputy Director General of the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, which will force the supplier “to more controls” and therefore potentially “delay the restart of certain reactors”.