The EDF group, which is under pressure from the executive to increase its electricity production quickly in preparation for winter, is considering raising the thresholds for exposure to radioactivity to which some employees are subjected, according to information from the EDF group.
This measure, along with the use of a US workforce of specialized welders, envisaged by EDF, illustrates the marathon underway to restart as many reactors as possible before the end of February in the context of the European energy crisis, which raises fears of winter energy shortages.
The EDF group is deprived of almost half of its nuclear fleet, which weakens the French electricity production. As of Friday, 29 of its 56 reactors were shut down, mainly because of corrosion problems that appeared last winter in its most recent plants.
In this context, EDF has been informed “by some” of its subcontractors “that they are considering raising, for some of their employees”, their radioactive dose limits (dose constraints, editor’s note), explained the group in a written statement sent to AFP, confirming information from Reuters.
The increase in this “dose constraint” concerns several companies – whose names have not been communicated by EDF – which intervene on the construction sites to solve these corrosion problems.
“We are thus aware of a situation where it could be raised from 12 to 14 millisieverts (mSv)” per year, the group said.
This threshold remains “well below the regulatory threshold set for all workers exposed to ionizing radiation, which is 20 mSv per year in France, compared to 50 mSv in the United States,” Klervi Leuraud, an expert in ionizing radiation at the IRSN (Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety), told AFP
“So we’re well within the acceptable and regulatory zone,” the expert stressed.
Each employer, whose employees are subject to the effects of ionizing radiation, must, under the Labor Code, set a “dose constraint” not to be exceeded by its employees, and which is “below the threshold of 20 mSv per year set by the regulations,” EDF said in detail.
According to the group, some of its subcontractors had previously adopted more protective exposure limits than those in force at EDF before finally reversing this choice.
“For EDF employees, this dose constraint is 14 mSv per year”, a value also “adopted” by its subcontractors, except for “some of them who had opted for “lower values”, 12 mSv/year.
EDF has regularly highlighted the shortage of skilled workers trained to quickly repair the corrosions discovered last winter in its newest plants.
This situation is forcing EDF to consider using “experienced North American teams” of welders, even if it is not considered “exceptional” for EDF.
“Some French employees of our industrial partners are themselves called upon to work on foreign power plants,” the group said.
Due to the exceptional unavailability of the French nuclear fleet, the EDF Group has had to revise downwards its estimated nuclear production for 2022, which is now “in the lower end of the 280-300 TWh range” compared to 295-315 TWh in its previous forecast.
