French state-controlled nuclear group Areva is investigating 6,000 nuclear component manufacturing files from the 1965-2013 period for documentation irregularities, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Thursday. In May, French nuclear regulator ASN said it had been informed by Areva that its investigation had found evidence of irregularities in about 400 components produced since 1965, of which some 50 are believed to be in use in French nuclear plants. The source said that following this discovery, Areva had investigated a sample of all manufacturing files for 9,000 components – of which 6,000 nuclear components – since 1965. Since it had discovered irregularities in the documentation of some of these samples, it has decided to investigate all of its nuclear component manufacturing documentation, the source said. The investigation will take several months.
Reuters 13th Oct 2016 read more »