The French newspaper Libération said that the Chinese authorities and the French group “Electric de France” (EDF) were embarrassed by a “leak” incident that lasted for several weeks in the operating pressurized water reactor at the Taishan nuclear power plant in southern China, which led to an “increase in Concentration of some rare materials and gases in the water circuit that feeds the tank.
In a report authored by Jean-Christophe Ferro, she explained that the most likely hypothesis is that many of the nuclear fuel rods were damaged, which led to the contamination of the primary circuit of the reactor, noting that this accident represents another blow to the atomic industry and the French company, which seeks to sell “safer nuclear energy.” for the climate.”
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Liberation indicated that the Chinese authorities did not communicate about the existence of this accident, and the Chinese nuclear power group operating it was satisfied with making sure that the environmental indicators are “normal” around the plant, and that the risk of radioactive contamination for Taishan employees and surrounding residents is under control, so that the reactor continued to operate on Monday, which raised The astonishment of the French experts.
Yesterday, CNN revealed this incident after it obtained a letter from the US subsidiary of EDF’s Framatom Corporation alerting federal authorities in Washington to an “imminent radioactive threat” to the power plant. In Taishan, the French government also acknowledged that it learned of the incident on 10 June and is closely monitoring the situation.
For its part, “EDF” says that Framatom informed it of an increase in the concentration of some rare gases in the primary circuit of Reactor No. 1, and said that “such a phenomenon is known, studied and expected in the operating procedures of reactors,” and it confirms that “the reactor is currently within the licensed operating and safety range. According to the information available.
Liberation warned that the French group was very interested in what might happen in Taishan, because it was the one who sold pressurized water technology to the Chinese and participated in the construction of the Taishan 1 and 2 reactors, which entered service respectively in December 2018 and September 2019, and that it is its share They both account for 30%.
The importance of knowing the cause and nature of the Taishan accident and its potential danger to the “EDF” group – according to the newspaper – comes in that this pressurized water technology has experienced many technical setbacks, as its first unit enters service in Finland 12 years late this fall, and it will also be delayed The FLA 3 reactor in France was brought into the grid 11 years later than planned.
Where did the gases come from?
To learn more about what happened in Taishan, the newspaper said it turned to independent experts, and Yves Marignac, head of the nuclear pole and fossil energy at the Nigawat Institute, explained to it that the most likely explanation for this radioactive gas leak “is a possible rupture of the uranium rods within the fuel assembly that forms the core of the reactor He pointed out that “this is the only explanation for the presence of these rare gases such as krypton, argon and xenon in the reactor’s primary circuit.”
Liberation confirmed that this issue has nothing to do with Chernobyl-type accidents in Russia or Fukushima in Japan, noting what the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna said at this stage that it had no indication of a “radiological accident”, especially since continuous monitoring of environmental data shows The indicators are normal.
EDF warned that the Chinese operator of the reactor had “carried out an aerial release” of rare gases “in accordance with the regulatory limits set by the Chinese Safety Authority,” noting that these discharges are without risk. “We are not in a state of pollution, we are in controlled discharges. “.