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Explosion at Flamanville nuclear plant in northern France Explosion at Flamanville nuclear plant in northern France
(about 1 hour later)
An explosion has occurred at EDF’s Flamanville nuclear plant in northern France, causing minor injuries but no risk of contamination, authorities have said. There is no risk of contamination after an explosion occurred at EDF’s Flamanville nuclear plant in northern France, authorities have said.
The blast happened in the engine room at the plant, which is 15 miles west of the port of Cherbourg. EDF said the blast at 9.40am on Thursday was caused by a fire in the turbine hall, which is outside the nuclear zones of the power station, located 15 miles west of the port of Cherbourg. Five people were treated for smoke inhalation.
“It is a significant technical event but it is not a nuclear accident,” Olivier Marmion, a senior local official, told Agence France-Presse. The nuclear operator said an on-site team brought the fire under control. One of the plant’s two water pressurised reactors was shut down after the explosion and the incident was declared over by 11am.
He said a ventilator had exploded outside the nuclear zone at the plant, which has been in operation since the 1980s. Five people suffered smoke inhalation but there were no serious injuries. The cause of the fire is unknown, though authorities have ruled out sabotage. Experts said the explosion appeared to be a relatively minor event and did not pose a safety risk.
One of the two pressurised water reactors at the plant was shut down after the explosion and the incident was declared over at 11am GMT, the authorities said. “Though any accident at a nuclear site must be taken seriously, I wouldn’t call this a nuclear accident as there was no release of radioactive material and the reactor was not affected,” said Prof Jim Smith, professor of environmental science at the University of Portsmouth. “There doesn’t appear to be any risk to the general public.”
A new third-generation reactor known as EPR is being built at Flamanville and it will be the world’s largest when it goes into operation in late 2018. Mycle Schneider, a Paris-based nuclear consultant, said that fires in a nuclear plant were always “bad news” because of side effects such as the smoke, which apparently intoxicated the five people.
Construction of the new plant at the site in Normandy began in 2007. It was initially scheduled for completion in 2012 but has been delayed several times and is over budget. “However, in this case, the fire had apparently been contained and rather quickly brought under control. I don’t think this was a major event at all.”
Jacques Witkowski, another local official, told Reuters that authorities had ruled out sabotage as cause of the blast. A mechanical part of a ventilator in the machine room – which is not in contact with the nuclear installations of the plant – had probably overheated, he said. The reason was not yet known. Other nuclear experts noted that because of the design of the plant’s reactors, water passing through the turbine would not have gone through the reactor’s core, so it was unlikely there was a radioactive release. “There were no consequences for safety at the plant or for environmental safety,” EDF said in a statement.
A new third-generation reactor known as EPR is being built at Flamanville and it will be the world’s largest when it goes into operation in late 2018. Construction of the new plant at the site began in 2007 and was initially scheduled for completion in 2012 but has been delayed several times and is over budget.
The design of the new reactor is the same as the one planned at Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, which will be the UK’s first new nuclear power station in two decades. EDF also hopes to build a second new plant at Sizewell on the Suffolk coast.
Nuclear power provides four-fifths of France’s electricity generation, but much of the country’s ageing nuclear fleet is expected to close in the 2030s. The reliance on the power stations led to warnings of a risk of power cuts this winter after safety checks forced several of 85% state-owned EDF’s plants offline for tests.Nuclear power provides four-fifths of France’s electricity generation, but much of the country’s ageing nuclear fleet is expected to close in the 2030s. The reliance on the power stations led to warnings of a risk of power cuts this winter after safety checks forced several of 85% state-owned EDF’s plants offline for tests.
François Hollande’s government passed an energy transition law, which came into effect last year, that encourages a switch to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and caps the amount of electricity produced by nuclear power.François Hollande’s government passed an energy transition law, which came into effect last year, that encourages a switch to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and caps the amount of electricity produced by nuclear power.
The board of EDF recently voted to close the country’s oldest atomic plant in order to stay under that cap and open a new one at Flamanville.The board of EDF recently voted to close the country’s oldest atomic plant in order to stay under that cap and open a new one at Flamanville.
The design of the sites’ new plant is the same as the one planned at Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, the UK’s first new nuclear power station in two decades. EDF also hopes to build a second new plant at Sizewell on the Suffolk coast.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report