U.S. lists 17 nuclear reactors with parts from forge under probe
Source: Reuters
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Tuesday unveiled a letter showing that 17 of the country's nuclear reactors have parts from Areva SA's Le Creusot forge in France, which is under investigation for allegedly falsifying documents on the quality of its parts.
The number of reactors was more than the nine the NRC had previously disclosed.
Last month authorities in France opened an investigation into decades of alleged forgery of documents relating to the quality of parts produced at Le Creusot and used in power plants around the world.
Areva, a nuclear and renewable energy firm, furnished the information to the U.S. regulator last month but had urged the agency to keep it private, saying it was material to the business of nuclear power generators. The NRC told Areva it did not consider the information to be so and released it 10 days after receiving it.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-france-nuclearpower-idUSKBN14U2T0
= new reply since forum marked as read
A list of 17 reactors should be part of the article.
If the paywall gets in the way, try going in through Google or Google News.
Coverup at French Nuclear Supplier Sparks Global Review
Inspectors say Areva units files suggest manufacturing flaws in critical parts were covered up for decades
By Matthew Dalton and Inti Landauro in Paris and Rebecca Smith in San Francisco
Matthew.Dalton@wsj.com
@DJMatthewDalton
Inti.Landauro@dowjones.com
@landauro
rebecca.smith@wsj.com
Dec. 13, 2016 5:30 a.m. ET
Inspectors from the U.S. and other countries are investigating a decadeslong coverup of manufacturing problems at a key supplier to the nuclear power industry, probing whether flaws introduced in a French factory represent a safety threat to reactors world-wide. ... Inspectors from the U.S., China and four other nations visited Areva SAs Le Creusot Forge in central France earlier this month to examine the plants quality controls and comb through its internal records.
A string of discoveries triggered the newly expanded review: First, French investigators said they found steel components made at Le Creusot and used in nuclear-power plants across France had excess carbon levels, making them more vulnerable to rupture. Then, the investigators discovered files suggesting Le Creusot employees for decades had concealed manufacturing problems involving hundreds of components sold to customers around the world.
The disclosure of flaws covered up by Le Creusot led to two reactor shutdowns this summer in France, and in September authorities ordered Areva to check 6,000 manufacturing files by hand, covering every nuclear part made at Le Creusot since the 1960s. ... Im concerned that there keep being more and more problems unveiled, said Kerri Kavanagh, who leads the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions unit inspecting Le Creusot. Regulators are considering returning to Le Creusot or inspecting Arevas Lynchburg, Va., offices to deepen their probe of the plant, a U.S. official said.
On Wednesday, Paris prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into whether Le Creusots activities were fraudulent and dangerous, according to a spokeswoman for prosecutors. ... What we see now at Le Creusot is clearly unacceptable, said Julien Collet, assistant general manager at Frances Nuclear Safety Authority.
Title in print edition, on page B1: "Probe Points to Nuclear Coverup."
Babcock and Wilcox used to be in Lynchburg. They must have been taken over by Areva.
Full disclosure: I am not opposed to nuclear power. I have visited a reactor, but I have never taken any nuclear engineering courses.
