French utility giant Elecricite de France (EDF) said Monday that it would continue with construction at the Flamanville 3 EPR reactor in western Normandy while it waited for results of tests that would determine the soundness of the steel used in pressure vessel components.
French nuclear regulator ASN (the Authority of Nuclear Safety) said two weeks ago that nuclear giant Areva had discovered an area with high carbon in the steel of a vessel head that was similar to one installed at Flamanville. The anomaly was discovered as the results of tests done in October 2014 became known.
An area of high-carbon in the containment vessel head would result in weaker metal that also melts at lower temperatures than low-carbon steel.
In a statement, EDF said that it acknowledged that pressure vessel components had to comply with French standards that were revised in 2005.
EDF said it was working with Areva to prepare “a new series of tests aimed at demonstrating the compliance of Flamanville 3 equipment to these new standards.”
Construction of the Flamanville 3 1650 MWe reactor was expected to be completed in 2017, although that would change if the tests indicate a major problem with installed components.
Similar projects are also underway in Finland and China. The first one expected to be completed is the Taishan 1 unit in China, which was begun in 2009 and is expected to be completed in 2016, according to the World Nuclear Association.