Nuclear: Safety Authority approves ten-year extension of 20 reactors

The Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR) has given its approval for a ten-year extension of France's 20 1,300-megawatt reactors, the oldest of which will be 40 years old next year, it announced on Thursday, July 3.

"The ASNR considers that all the provisions planned by EDF and those it prescribes open the prospect of continued operation of these reactors for the ten years following their fourth periodic review," it specifies in an information note following the decision taken on July ^1. The work will extend until 2040 for the last reactors, the ASNR also emphasizes.

This decision follows a consultation that began in January and ended on June 30 on the safety conditions for EDF's continued operation of these reactors. It concludes the so-called "generic" phase of the review, which concerns studies of the facilities common to all 1,300 megawatt reactors, designed on a similar model.

The first ten-year inspections, scheduled after the reactors reach their 40th year of life, will begin next year. The first reactor to be inspected is the Paluel (Seine-et-Maritime) reactor, scheduled for early 2026, EDF told Agence France-Presse.

This fourth periodic review is particularly important since, when designing certain reactor equipment, an assumption of 40 years of operation was adopted, explains the ANSR. "Continuing beyond this period requires an update of the design studies or replacement of equipment," it specifies.

The ASNR's requirements will then be broken down reactor by reactor, during their fourth periodic review, adds the Authority: "The specific features of each of the installations will then be taken into account" , and the review report for each reactor "will be the subject of a public inquiry" .