2024-07-23 23:26:50
The EDF project is also in the crosshairs of anti-nuclear groups. Many of them announced on Tuesday that they have taken legal action to challenge the “rapid start” according to them of the new generation EPR nuclear reactor in Flamanville, which was commissioned in May 12 years late.
The group filed on July 8 “petition before the Council of State” against the May 7 decision of the Nuclear Security Authority (ASN) to authorize the authorization of the EPR, announced the Nuclear Exit network, in a joint press release with Criirad. , Crilan, Global Chance and Robin des Bois ep. They also filed a complaint against X on Tuesday, in Cherbourg and Paris, “in order to shed light on the irregularities observed by the Nuclear Safety Authority on the EPR units”.
Greenpeace joins two legal actions and France Environment Normandie joins the only criminal action. Through these two processes, the parties decided to gain knowledge about “this fast delivery while the questions remain unanswered”.
“Problems of forgeries, lies and suspicions of fraud”
On May 7, at the end of a complex project that was hampered by technical setbacks, ASN authorized the launch of the EPR, operated by EDF, which should lead to the connection of the unit to the electricity network in summer.
However, for these parties, this green light is “under the restriction of very strict deadlines” and aims “above all” to “avoid the legal consequences of another delay”. The post was “postponed by order” in 2017 and 2020 and the new deadline provided for it to take place before “April 10”, they argued.
The end of this day “does not prevent ASN from authorizing the reactor”, the nuclear police pointed out in mid-March. For the parties, this decision is “even more surprising in the light of the ASN revelations” at the beginning of 2024 on “new problems of lies, lies and suspicions of fraud” in the nuclear sector. ASN announced in January that it had reported three cases of “proven fraud” to the courts in 2023, without further details.
The parties’ complaints to the public prosecutor’s offices of Cherbourg and Paris, with the intention of “joining the criminal process opened at the origin of ASN”, have mainly been accused of using counterfeits and “supervision defects” of the provided for in the environmental code, and “at least one in three cases reported a manufacturer’s concerns to the Flamanville EPR construction site”.
The plaintiffs specifically attached to their complaint a letter dated March 26, 2024 from ASN addressed to EDF CEO Luc Rémont which called on the company to conduct investigations into “risks of unfairness between the supply chain equipment intended for nuclear reactors” of the group.
“Recently, irregularities were revealed between two companies that are part of the EDF supply chain and carry equipment intended for the operation of nuclear reactors as well as the Flamanville EPR reactor,” this letter indicates.
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