Macron facing ‘Fukushima-style’ horror accident as EDF reactors crack force shutdown. FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron is facing a nightmare situation as cracks in EDF’s reactors threaten to create accidents as devastating as Fukushima. Paris has been forced to shut down many French reactors, as a recent report warned Mr Macron of significant corrosion safety problems in EDF nuclear power plants in France as cracks were detected in some nuclear reactors. Speaking to Express.co.uk, Dr Bernard Laponche, the co-author of this study warned that in many of these reactors, cracks to cooling systems could cause devastating accidents. He said: “If the defects are detected in or near the welds, or near the junction between these and the primary cooling circuit cause a breach in the cooling system with an important loss of water, this can lead to the partial or total melting of the fuel assemblies in the reactor core. “That means the possibility of a Three Mile Island or a Fukushima-type accident.” As a result of these corrosion problems, four 1500 MW, seven 1300 MW and one 900 MW reactors are shut down. Meanwhile, engineers are working on fixing segments of the cooling circuits where the cracks were identified.
Express 3rd July 2022 read more »