ASN Asks EDF For Details Of Planned Work On Bugey-5 Containment Defects

4 Dec (NucNet): France’s nuclear regulator ASN (Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire) has asked EDF to submit details of the work it plans to carry out to resolve defects in the inner, metallic liner of the reactor containment building of the Bugey-5 nuclear unit in southeast France. ASN said EDF must provide the information before restarting the reactor. Significant leaks from the containment were seen during a pressure test conducted in 2011 during the unit’s third decennial inspection. On 23 December 2014 ASN said a new test of the containment should be carried out during the reactor’s next shutdown. EDF carried out these tests during a shutdown for preventive maintenance and fuel loading which began on 27 August 2015. ASN said the tests showed there had been further degradation of the inner liner of the containment since the previous tests. Leaks were also found in the lower part of the reactor building. Bugey-5, an 880-megawatt pressurised water reactor, began commercial operation in January 1980.