The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) in a preliminary report, says that construction will be allowed to continue at the Flamanville Unit 3 construction project despite anomalies of high carbon concentrations found in steel used for the vessel bottom head of the European Pressurized Reactor.
The anomalies were first found in April 2015 and the ripple effect of the discoveries caused concern in Japan, China and France, where components for nuclear plants made by the same forge – AREVA's Le Creusot industrial forge in France – suddenly fell under suspicion for being potentially weaker than would be considered safe. High carbon concentrations in steel make the metal more brittle or more fragile than correctly formulated steel.
In March of 2017, the ASN authorized the restarting of 12 reactors in France in which carbon anomalies were either found or under suspicion of being present. The ASN inspected components, including steam generator channel heads of certain reactors.
Now, according to French newspaper Le Figaro, the ASN's preliminary report recommends that the Flamanville Unit 3 project meets safety standards that will allow construction to continue.
A “preliminary” ruling on the reactor's safety is expected to be made public this summer, while a formal declaration of the decision will be made in September, according to French media.