Antinuclear

France’s nuclear industry in trouble – security breaches,costs, opposition

activists remained inside the Cruas site for 14 hours before being caught

Electricite de France (EDF) shares have slumped (EDF) 37 percent since the Fukushima disaster, on concern about the amount of investment needed to keep French reactors running safely in the coming years. 

At the same time, the opposition Socialist and Green parties are campaigning to close 24 reactors by 2025 to cut dependence on atomic power.

France’s Biggest Nuclear Breach Raises Alarm as Support for Reactors Wanes Bloomberg By Tara Patel – Dec 13, 2011 Just after 6 a.m. on Dec. 5,under cover of darkness, nine Greenpeace  activists cut through a fence at the Nogent-sur-Seine atomic plant 95 kilometers (59 miles) southeast of Paris and headed for a domed reactor building.
They scaled the roof and unfurled a “Safe Nuclear Doesn’t Exist” banner before attracting the attention of security guards. Two remained at large for four hours.

On the same day, two more campaigners breached the perimeter of the Cruas-Meysse plant on the Rhone, escaping detection for more than 14 hours while posting videos of their sit-in on the Internet.
The security lapses, described as irresponsible acts by President
Nicolas Sarkozy , come at a time when debate has intensified on
France’s reliance on atomic power for three- quarters of its energy
needs in the run-up to next year’s presidential elections. They also
pre-empt next month’s release of the results of safety checks at
France’s 58 reactors, commissioned in the aftermath of the Fukushima
tragedy…..
Greenpeace said its activists exposed the biggest security lapse to
date at the reactors that are operated by Electricite de France  SA,
since it was the first time the environmental group was able to target
more than one site at the same time.
‘Total Panic’
“EDF was in total panic,” said Yannick Rousselet, head of the French
nuclear campaign at Greenpeace, who provided an account of the events,
mostly confirmed by EDF. “They couldn’t deal with the situation.”
Greenpeace says its activists remained inside the Cruas site for 14
hours before being caught, though EDF has been unable to verify
this….
EDF shares have slumped (EDF) 37 percent since the Fukushima disaster,
on concern about the amount of investment needed to keep French
reactors running safely in the coming years. EDF fell 1.6 percent to
18.355 euros at 1:11 p.m. in Paris today.
The state-controlled utility has already said that the annual bill for
maintaining its reactors could more than double by 2015 as it seeks to
prolong their lives. At the same time, the opposition Socialist and
Green parties are campaigning to close 24 reactors by 2025 to cut
dependence on atomic power.
France’s nuclear watchdog is due to publish in January the results of
safety checks to establish whether the country’s nuclear plants are
safe to continue following the meltdown at the Japanese reactor in
March. The audits are examining whether the sites are able to
withstand earthquakes, floods and the loss of power and cooling
systems.
Their scope should be widened to test for their ability to withstand
other emergency situations such as terrorist attacks, plane crashes
and computer bugs, according to Greenpeace.
The intruders at Nogent-sur-Seine, who included a grandfather, were
able to get to the roof of the reactor building from the fence in just
15 minutes, according to Rousselet…..
The Cruas break-in proved more embarrassing for EDF as the activists
remained hidden near the perimeter fence even as the company was
telling reporters that detection equipment showed no other intruders
were at any of its plants.
“People got into reactor sites, highlighting a real nuclear safety
issue,” said Chicuong Dang , an analyst at Richelieu Finance in Paris.
“Legitimate questions are now being asked.”…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-12/french-nuclear-breach-raises-alarm-amid-debate.html

December 14, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized