In France, the schedule for Electricité de France (EDF) is tight: almost half of the French nuclear fleet is still shut down due – in particular – to corrosion problems that appeared in the winter of 2021-2022 in certain plants. Faced with the energy crisis and fears of supply tensions in the event of a cold winter, the government has publicly urged the group to meet its restart deadlines. It is in this context that EDF service providers plan to raise the limits of radioactive doses to which some of their technicians may be exposed.
The corrosion problems that appeared last winter have increased the number of maintenance to be done on the country’s nuclear power plants. Results, ” current activities “, declares EDF, lead “ an increase in the number of hours worked in the nuclear part of the facilities “. This additional activity had not been envisaged by the partners of the French electrician when they established “ their dose constraint », that is to say the limit of radioactive doses to which technicians can be exposed each year.
Raise the limit
In this particular context, EDF therefore says that it has been informed by some of its partners of their intention to raise this limit. EDF gives an example: a company could thus raise the threshold from 12 to 14 millisieverts (mSv) for a few employees. An increase that is not likely to worry the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN).
Appeal ” to North American teams »
Because this threshold remains well below the regulatory limit of 20 millisieverts per year in France (14 mSv, this is also the annual constraint provided for EDF employees). The availability of qualified workers is one of the challenges for quickly repairing corrosion. EDF is also considering recourse to North American teams of welders. A situation which, however, has nothing to do with exceptional “, according to the French electrician.
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