Blayais Nuclear Power Plant
Encyclopedia
The Blayais Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear plant on the banks of the Gironde estuary
near Blaye
, South Western France operated by Électricité de France
.
s – producing 951 MW each. They were commissioned from 1981 to 1983. The plant has 1200 EDF employees and 350 permanent workers.
The four reactors produce about 27 TWh per year which totals to 1.5 times more than the electricity needs of the Aquitaine region. Since its commissioning, the Blayais nuclear power plant has produced more than 500 TWh, the equivalent of the French electricity production in one year.
In its 2007 annual report, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) finds overall safety of the power plant as satisfactory but finds that the organization put in place to manage emergencies is robust and the site must be more rigorous in the preparation of interventions.
(INES), though none of the locals were evacuated.
The incident reported on the 14 October 2002 earthquake advised the keeping of water reservoirs to ensure the cooling of the heart in case of accident. The work required to back into compliance plant was completed in December 2005.
The incident on 28 October 2003 reported seismic behavior of piping connected to a tank of water affected by the incident of 14 October 2002.
.
At the time, units 1, 2 and 4 were at full power, while unit 3 was shut down for refuelling. The operation of units 1 and 2 were affected by flood damage to a number of water pumps and distribution panels, all four units lost their 225kV power supplies, while units 2 and 4 also lost their 400kV power supplies. Diesel backup generators were employed to maintain power to plants 2 and 4 until the 400kV supply was restored. Over the following days an estimated 90000 m³ (3,178,320 cu ft) of water was pumped out of the flooded buildings.
On 5 January, the regional newspaper Sud-Ouest
ran the following headline without being contradicted:Very close to a major accident, explaining that a catastrophe had been narrowly avoided.
The flooding resulted in fundamental changes to the evaluation of flood risk at nuclear power plants, and in the precautions taken.
In Germany the flooding prompted the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety to order an evaluation of the German nuclear power plants
.
and Blaye
, the nearest town), formed by Stéphane Lhomme
on December 15, 1999.
Gironde estuary
The Gironde is a navigable estuary , in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Garonne just below the centre of Bordeaux...
near Blaye
Blaye
Blaye is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:Its inhabitants are called Blayais or the Blayaises.-Geography:...
, South Western France operated by Électricité de France
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
.
Description
The power plant has 4 nuclear reactors of PWR technology – pressurized water reactorPressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
s – producing 951 MW each. They were commissioned from 1981 to 1983. The plant has 1200 EDF employees and 350 permanent workers.
The four reactors produce about 27 TWh per year which totals to 1.5 times more than the electricity needs of the Aquitaine region. Since its commissioning, the Blayais nuclear power plant has produced more than 500 TWh, the equivalent of the French electricity production in one year.
In its 2007 annual report, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) finds overall safety of the power plant as satisfactory but finds that the organization put in place to manage emergencies is robust and the site must be more rigorous in the preparation of interventions.
2005 spill
In 2005 100000 gal of water spilled out of the plant after 3 days of heavy rainfall causing a Level 3 nuclear hazard in the International Nuclear Event ScaleInternational Nuclear Event Scale
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to enable prompt communication of safety significance information in case of nuclear accidents....
(INES), though none of the locals were evacuated.
2002 and 2005 seismic incidents
In 2002 and 2003, EDF reported two level 1 incidents on the INES scale about the seismic behavior of certain components of 900 MWe French PWR and the central Blayais.The incident reported on the 14 October 2002 earthquake advised the keeping of water reservoirs to ensure the cooling of the heart in case of accident. The work required to back into compliance plant was completed in December 2005.
The incident on 28 October 2003 reported seismic behavior of piping connected to a tank of water affected by the incident of 14 October 2002.
1999 flooding
On evening of December 27, 1999, a combination of the incoming tide and high winds overwhelmed the sea walls at the plant and causing parts of the plant to be flooded. The event resulted in the loss of the plant's off-site power supply and knocked out several safety-related backup systems, resulting in a 'level 2' event on the International Nuclear Event ScaleInternational Nuclear Event Scale
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to enable prompt communication of safety significance information in case of nuclear accidents....
.
At the time, units 1, 2 and 4 were at full power, while unit 3 was shut down for refuelling. The operation of units 1 and 2 were affected by flood damage to a number of water pumps and distribution panels, all four units lost their 225kV power supplies, while units 2 and 4 also lost their 400kV power supplies. Diesel backup generators were employed to maintain power to plants 2 and 4 until the 400kV supply was restored. Over the following days an estimated 90000 m³ (3,178,320 cu ft) of water was pumped out of the flooded buildings.
On 5 January, the regional newspaper Sud-Ouest
Sud-Ouest (newspaper)
Sud-Ouest is the third regional daily in France in terms of circulation. It was created in Bordeaux, on August 29, 1944 by Jacques Lemoine, as a successor to La Petite Gironde. In 1949, the Sunday edition, Sud-Ouest Dimanche was launched. Sud-Ouest covers the Gironde, the Charente, the...
ran the following headline without being contradicted:Very close to a major accident, explaining that a catastrophe had been narrowly avoided.
The flooding resulted in fundamental changes to the evaluation of flood risk at nuclear power plants, and in the precautions taken.
In Germany the flooding prompted the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety to order an evaluation of the German nuclear power plants
Nuclear power in Germany
Nuclear power in Germany accounted for 23% of national electricity consumption, before the permanent shutdown of 8 plants in March 2011. German nuclear power began with research reactors in the 1950s and 1960s with the first commercial plant coming online in 1969...
.
Opposition
The continued operation of the Blayais plant is opposed by the local anti-nuclear group 'TchernoBlaye' (a portmanteau of the French spelling of ChernobylChernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
and Blaye
Blaye
Blaye is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:Its inhabitants are called Blayais or the Blayaises.-Geography:...
, the nearest town), formed by Stéphane Lhomme
Stéphane Lhomme
Stéphane Lhomme is president of Tchernoblaye association, and was speaker of "Sortir du nucléaire" Network during 2002-2010....
on December 15, 1999.