Reactor in France: radioactive leak discovered at Civaux nuclear plant

Dhe French energy supplier EDF has discovered a radioactive leak at its Civaux nuclear power plant in the southwest of the country. It occurred in the primary cooling circuit and was noticed last Wednesday, EDF said on Monday in Paris. There is no security risk. No radioactivity was measured outside the facility. The nuclear regulator ASN requested a report on the incident from EDF.

During a test run at the power plant, steam escaped in the instrument room of the reactor core, according to the operator’s website. According to EDF, no personnel were near the leak.

The leak could delay the reactor’s scheduled restart on Jan. 8, an industry insider told Reuters. EDF said it is too early to say what the impact of the incident will be. It is unclear whether this will delay the restart of the reactor.

The 1,500-megawatt Civaux 1 reactor has been shut down since August 2021 for a ten-year scheduled maintenance. The work had already been delayed by a week. EDF is now facing “a possible major further delay,” the insider told Reuters. Civaux 1 is one of a number of reactors that EDF plans to restart in time to produce enough electricity this winter.