Finnish regulators halt welding of piping at Olkiluoto-3

[bananas]

Finnish regulators halt welding of piping at Olkiluoto-3

Stockholm (Platts)--12May2009

STUK has ordered a stop to welding of Olkiluoto-3 primary circuit piping
due to discovery of small cracks next to some welds, Martti Vilpas, an
official from the Finnish nuclear regulatory agency said in an interview May
12. STUK will not allow welding to resume until manufacturer Areva and its
customer, utility TVO, submit a report outlining the root cause of the anomaly
and its potential safety implications, he said. Indications of cracking were
found earlier this spring during the manufacturer's inspection of welds on hot
leg piping in Areva's facility in France. Vilpas said that a few weeks ago
similar indications were found next to a weld on the third hot leg. The cracks
are 1 to 2 millimeters in length and 1.8 millimeters deep. The piping is 76
millimeters thick. He said the defects can probably be ground out. Areva is
building the 1,600-MW-class EPR at Olkiluoto-3 along with Siemens in a turnkey
contract with TVO.

[madokie]

1. My experience with any kind of a crack in steel is it will grow

with expansion/contraction and vibrations.