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Engie Electrabel discovered a construction defect in the nuclear reactor Tihange 3, stopped since March 30, reveals Thursday evening. Anomalies in the reinforcements of the reinforced concrete, present since the construction of the building, have thus been brought to light. This could potentially undermine the strength of the structure. By mid-June, Engie had revised its schedule for the scheduled revisions of the Tihange 2 and Doel 4 nuclear units and adapted the end date of the current revision of Tihange 3. This would allow inspection of the concrete ceilings of building attached to the reactor building for each of these units
Doel 1 and 2 as well as Tihange 1 have another architecture and were not affected by these problems.
In Tihange 3, the company decided to to push the badysis of a concrete slab in the ceiling of a bunker, a five-storey armored building that houses including emergency systems. Engie Electrabel discovered that the condition of the concrete was degraded.
But, by stripping it and doing extensive tests, the energy supplier observed "anomalies in the reinforcement of the reinforced concrete present since the construction of the building ", according to Le Soir.
Some of these frames were not arranged as the plan intended. This could potentially undermine the resistance of the structure, writes the daily.
The Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) mingled with the case. "The reactor will only be able to restart when the badyzes have demonstrated that this resistance is guaranteed," she warns.
The reactor will be shut down at least until September 2018, or even more depending on the importance
Any conclusion is premature
Electrabel confirmed Thursday in a statement the discovery of anomalies in the reinforcement of the reinforced concrete present since the construction of the building of Tihange 3. "The badyzes are ongoing and no conclusions can be made at this stage, "says the operator. The discovery of these anomalies comes as the planned reactor overhaul is underway. Electrabel has launched a preventive inspection and repair program for all its units following other abnormalities observed in concrete in an annex building of Doel 3.
A Tihange 3, Electrabel a also noted, in April 2018, a deterioration of the concrete at the ceilings of the premises housing "the exhaust nozzles of the vapor exhaust valves". A repair program was set up directly. During these inspections, the teams proceeded to stripping the damaged areas. This stripping revealed anomalies in the reinforcements of the reinforced concrete present since the construction of the building. It appears that reinforcement elements of the concrete slab on the ceiling are not positioned strictly as on the plans. "Presumably, these pins moved when the concrete was poured in the construction period," says the energy technician.
Electrabel engineers are currently working on "badyzes and calculations under the control of independent experts ". These calculations must determine "the impact of non-compliant pins positioning on the construction plan in the event of an external event such as a plane crash". This file will then be given to the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control, which will take a position. "The badyzes are in progress and no conclusion can be made at this stage."
Electrabel recalls that nuclear safety is its "top priority". The design of the Belgian plants has been described as "particularly robust" during European stress tests. The margins that were applied during the construction of the units are more important than in the neighboring countries, badures the company which underlines that in case of doubt, the operator puts the unit the restart must be authorized by the FANC
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