(April 27, 1990) The fast breeder reactor Superphenix at Creys-Malville, France resumed operation on 14 April, despite the fact that a safety report demanded by a French court is not yet complete.
(331.3304) WISE Amsterdam - The safety report had been ordered by the administrative tribunal of Grenoble following the submission of several objections to operation of the plant. The government and environmentalists of the adjacent Swiss canton of Geneva have protested the restart.
Objections leading to the order for the safety report included concern over an accident at the smaller French fast breeder reactor Phenix at Marcoule. In August 1989 a bulb of argon gas in the sodium coolant of the fast breeder could have led to a nuclear explosion if the bulb had moved toward the core. Despite reassuring words appearing in media reports, there is no reason to assume that a similar accident could not occur in the Superphenix. The difference would be, on the one hand, simply a matter of scale:
The Superphenix, a prototype 1250 MW Fast Breeder, is vastly larger than the Phenix. It requires components so huge that they could not be tested to scale prior to going into operation. On the other hand, there is the impossibility of interfering with the process in the interior of the reactor core - a situation existing since the Superphenix suffered severe damage in a 1987 accident. In addition, there are problems with the functioning of the monitors for signaling a break in the containment, as these are also situated in the core and their measurements can no longer be verified.
It appeared at first that even the CEA (the French Atomic Energy Commission) recognized the seriousness of the near-disaster at the Phenix when it delayed the original restart date of 15 February 1990 for the Superphenix. And the SCSIN, which is responsible for the safety of French nuclear power plants, required the owners to furnish a demonstration of safety along with an analysis of the effects of an argon bulb passing through the reactor core. (Apparently, it was an attempt to fulfill this requirement that led to the accident at the Superphenix on 25 February - see "in brief", this issue.) Now, however, their decision to restart looks to have been more motivated by politics than safety.
To give an idea of how nuclear decisions fit into the present French political situation, the Comite European Contre la Surgeneration et le Retraitement (CECSR - the Committee Against Fast Breeders and Reprocessing) cites a few examples. When the debate on energy took place in the French National Assembly on 12 December 1989, the group points out that only 12 out of the 240 representatives were present. In addition, a proposal to install a regulating body to control the nuclear industry (with functions such as those held by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the US) was rejected.
To further point out how economic political interests reign in France in regard to nuclear power, CECSR gives the example of the nuclear power plant in Saint Alban that, according to an Electricite de France report, had problems with the steam generator. The reactor, a new 1300 MW PWR, received a license to start up again under reduced safety conditions - conditions thought by the Ministry of Industry to be acceptable.
Meanwhile, the present director of the Superphenix will be replaced on 16 April (to create an image of taking responsible decisions?).
A demonstration against Superphenix will take place on 28 April at Bern, Switzerland. (See address below for contact.)
Sources:
- Radio DRS (Swiss Radio) 14 April 1990
- CECSR
Contact: CONTRATOM, CP 107, CH1227 Carouge, Switzerland, tel: -41-22-7814844, fax: +41-22-217970 ("A l'attention de CONTRATOM").