No serious safety event occurred within Electricite de France's, or EDF's, reactor fleet in 2007, the Institute of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, or IRSN, said in a report made public December 9.
The report analyzed the operation of EDF's 58 PWRs last year and said there was "continuation of, if not an increase in, unanticipated events and operational difficulties caused essentially by human factor, organizational aspects and certain weakness in operating discipline."
IRSN's reactor safety division, which authored the report, said it continues to be "heavily mobilized" by work to assess the potential safety impact of steam generator tube support plate clogging on EDF plants. IRSN also said EDF had finished installing hydrogen recombiners on all its plants and adopted a plan for enhanced flooding protection of EDF reactor sites.
The report is the first of its kind to be made public; IRSN Director General Jacques Repussard said the publication could help stakeholders and the public better understand the stakes of nuclear power plant safety. The 63-page report (in French) is at www.irsn.org.