Steam generators at 28 EDF nuclear sites at riskĪfter several months of investigation LA found that critical components of a further 28 nuclear plants were forged by Le Creusot using the same process. It then goes on to investigate what other safety-critical nuclear components might be suffering from the same defects. His report examines how the defects in the Flamanville EPR reactor pressure vessel came about during the manufacturing process, and escaped detection for years after forging. "The nature of the flaw in the steel, an excess of carbon, reduces steel toughness and renders the components vulnerable to fast fracture and catastrophic failure putting the NPP at risk of a major radioactive release to the environment", says nuclear safety expert John Large, whose consultancy Large Associates (LA) carried out the Review. These key components were provided by French nuclear engineering firm Areva, and forged at its Le Creusot. The problem is that parts of the vessel and its cap contain high levels of carbon, making the metal brittle and potentially subject to catastrophic failure. The review was carried out at the request of Greenpeace France following the discovery of serious metallurgical flaws by French regulators in a reactor vessel at Flamanville, where an EPR plant is under construction.
A new review of the safety of France's nuclear power stations has found that at least 18 of EDF's units are are "operating at risk of major accident due to carbon anomalies."
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