ASN approves the extension of EDF’s largest reactors beyond 30 years.

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The French nuclear safety authority (ASN) has approved the review objectives presented by EDF to extend its four largest reactors by 30 to 40 years, while asking it to complete certain elements, according to a decision published on Tuesday.

ASN validates EDF’s general objectives for nuclear reactor reviews

“ASN considers that the general objectives set by EDF for this review are acceptable in principle,” notes the nuclear watchdog, commenting on the 3rd ten-yearly “periodic review”, planned for 1,450-megawatt (MW) reactors.

Located at Chooz (Ardennes) and Civeaux (Vienne), these “N4” reactors are the country’s newest. “However, the ASN is asking EDF to complete or clarify some of these general objectives, in the same way as it did for the 900 and 1300 MW reactors”.

This 3rd periodic review will define the conditions under which these reactors will continue to operate until they reach 40 years of age. Under French law, the operator of a nuclear facility is required to carry out a review every ten years, in order to take into account the current state of the site, past experience and new knowledge of climate change, for example.

For these four reactors, EDF is planning a two-stage review, with a “generic” phase covering issues common to all four, followed by a “reactor-specific” review from 2030 to 2033. The generic phase begins with EDF defining its objectives. This third periodic review will provide an opportunity to complete the integration of modifications resulting from the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident.

The ASN also notes that EDF has chosen to “aim for the nuclear safety objectives set for 3rd generation EPR-type reactors”. In a letter to EDF’s CEO, the ASN notes, however, that the general objectives set “do not fully reflect those set” for other plants. “With regard to the management of ageing and obsolescence, I expect, at the very least, the same commitments to be applied to 1450 MW reactors as you have made for other reactors,” writes ASN President Bernard Doroszczuk. Ultimately, “the review leads the operator to improve the safety level of the facility”, says the ASN.

France has 56 reactors, including 32 rated at 900 MW (commissioned mainly in the 1980s), 20 rated at 1,300 MW, and the last ones rated at 1,450 MW.

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