ASN’s supervision of the Flamanville-3 reactor construction (EPR) : latest news

EPR

Following a period of preparatory work that began in summer 2006, construction on the Flamanville 3 European Pressurized water Reactor (EPR) project began in September 2007.

Since the end of 2007, construction work has continued on various buildings at the Flamanville 3 site, including, in late 2010, the following activities:

  • reactor building: concreting work on the internal structures, erection of the vertical section of the metal liner of the inner containment wall, continuation of reinforcement and concreting work on the outer containment, and final concreting of the cylindrical part of the outer containment wall;
  • other structures in the nuclear island (fuel storage buildings, safeguard auxiliary buildings, emergency diesel generators, etc.): reinforcement and concreting operations have continued on buildings in addition to continuing work on electrical and mechanical assembly;
  • operational service centre: finishing work performed in roofed-in areas and electrical assembly completed;
  • turbine hall: work continues on installation of components such as the condenser and assembly of steam lines;

At the Flamanville 3 worksite, ASN performed 8 inspections in 2007, 14 in 2008, 24 in 2009 and 24 in 2010. More than two thirds of inspections carried out in 2010 concern technical issues relating to progress at the site and current activities (civil engineering, mechanical assembly and electrical systems). Other inspections concern general issues (management of safety, quality in the context of the order of 10 August 1984, organisational and human factors, emergency resources, worksite impact on neighbouring reactors in operation, contractors, etc.).

ASN is also responsible for labour inspection. During the third and fourth quarters of 2010, there were six inspections of safety and working conditions. In particular, issues regarding dust and compliance with access to the various workstations were examined. The labour inspector also attended technical meetings on worksite activities and the December meeting of the combined enterprise group on safety, health and working conditions. On 24 January 2011, following the deadly fall of a worker at the inner containment wall worksite of the reactor building currently under construction, two labour inspectors from ASN visited the site as part of their investigation. Exact circumstances of the accident are being examined.

In addition, ASN inspected engineering departments responsible for construction and monitoring of detailed design studies and monitoring qualification and manufacturing efforts. In 2010 ASN performed nine inspections of EDF engineering departments including five that were carried out in the workshops and offices of manufacturers of safety-related systems and components.

In 2010, ASN and its approved inspection bodies spent the equivalent of nearly 1,300 days in the workshops of AREVA NP and its subcontractors performing nearly 900 manufacturing inspections on nuclear pressure equipment that constitutes the reactor coolant and secondary systems.