Belgian nuclear power regulator FANC (Federal Agency for Nuclear Control) said power plant operator ENGIE Electrabel had inspected Doel 4 and Tighange 2 reactors and conformed concrete aging problems in both of the buildings that house secondary emergency response systems for the two units.
The inspections were conducted during routine shutdowns, but the concrete degradation had been inspected, as it was previously discovered in Doel 3 and Tihange 3, although repairs have been completed at Doel 3 and FANC has already given a green light for its restart.
There are now 5 closed reactors for various maintenance issues in Belguim, which relies on nuclear power for 50 percent of its energy generation. There are seven licensed reactors in the country.
Doel 1 and 2 have been shut down due to a small leak found in the primary cooling system of Unit 1. A replacement pipe has been installed, but restart is delayed while a lab analysis is done on the same part for Unit 2. Operators are looking to explain what created the leak before restarting Unit 1.
The worn-out concrete was found in the backup generation bunkers for Tihange 3 and Doel 3 in 2017. It was expected that further concrete degradation would be found. Specific inspections were set up for the following shut downs to confirm the same problem at other units.