Possible Generic Fault may affect Hinkley C
Posted: 2nd December 2021
The Hinkley Point C project may be delayed after defects were found at a
similar reactor in China. According to The Times, safety components at
Hinkley may need to be redesigned following the discovery. An investigation
is ongoing into the cause of the problems with the plant in Taishan, in the
southern Chinese province of Guangdong, which was shut down in August after
reports of damage to fuel rods. These hold nuclear materials used to fuel
the reactor. It was first revealed in June that the US government had been
assessing reports of a leak at the power station, with gas escaping after
the coating on some of the fuel rods deteriorated. The Commission for
Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity, a French association
created in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, has now said that a
whistleblower reported that a design flaw in the reactor pressure vessel
could be the cause of the Taishan problem. An industry source told The
Times that the investigation was likely to show that the pressure vessel
was “demonstrably safe” but it might also show that design changes were
needed. The £22bn Hinkley Point C power plant currently has a scheduled
date for starting electricity generation of June 2026. Construction is
ongoing, with the world’s biggest crane, Big Carl, placing the steel ring
onto the second reactor building earlier this month.
New Civil Engineer 2nd Dec 2021
https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/hinkley-point-c-could-be-delayed-by-chinese-nuclear-plant-fault-02-12-2021/
This could be key. If there is a generic design flaw with the EPR RPV, that impacts HPC and hence any plans for SZC, and hence UK nuclear policy.