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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday June 15 2021, @08:58AM   Printer-friendly
from the performance-issues-happen dept.

French nuclear firm trying to fix 'performance issue' at China plant

A French nuclear company has said it is working to resolve a "performance issue" at a plant it part-owns in China's southern Guangdong province after an earlier report of a potential leak there.

Framatome, a subsidiary of the energy giant EDF, told Agence France-Presse news agency that it was "supporting resolution of a performance issue" at the plant. "According to the data available, the plant is operating within the safety parameters," it said, adding that an extraordinary meeting of the power plant's board had been called "to present all the data and the necessary decisions".

The statement came shortly after the US TV network CNN reported that Framatome had previously warned the US energy department of an "imminent radiological threat" in a letter.

According to CNN, the letter included an accusation that the Chinese safety authority was "raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong province in order to avoid having to shut it down".


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by turgid on Tuesday June 15 2021, @10:26AM (3 children)

    by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 15 2021, @10:26AM (#1145444) Journal

    This is irresponsible, bordering on reckless, behaviour. They're operating a nuclear reactor with defective fuel cladding resulting in fission products leaking into the core and primary coolant. When nuclear fuel fails, it usually starts with a very small defect, a pinhole, which is fine for a short time. Eventually, it fails catastrophically. Nuclear reactors are built with detectors in the primary coolant circuit for fission products. When a fuel failure is detected, you must replace the defective fuel. Some nuclear reactors (Magnox) were designed to facilitate on-load refuelling, so failing fuel could be replaced fairly easily. Water-cooler reactors need to be shut down, flooded, the top removed and then the fuel discharged. This is obviously expensive and inconvenient, but it is absolutely necessary. PWR fuel is built to very high standards such that failed fuel should almost never happen. Revising the off-site release limits to cope with failed fuel is ignorant, lazy, stupid and cheap. In fact, it's criminally negligent.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 15 2021, @04:32PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 15 2021, @04:32PM (#1145573)
    • (Score: 2) by turgid on Tuesday June 15 2021, @05:59PM (1 child)

      by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 15 2021, @05:59PM (#1145603) Journal

      Just as well it wasn't Trump, eh? It would already have gone bang.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @05:24AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @05:24AM (#1146360)

        Nah, Adam Schiff would've just dusted off one of his old scripts, and cooked up another stupid impeachment.