EDF boss stresses nuclear safety credentials

EDF’s deputy-director for nuclear output today stressed the company’s safety credentials in the wake of the Japanese nuclear disaster. As technicians in Fukushima this afternoon battled to prevent a third […]

EDF’s deputy-director for nuclear output today stressed the company’s safety credentials in the wake of the Japanese nuclear disaster.

As technicians in Fukushima this afternoon battled to prevent a third blast at an over-heating reactor, Philippe Sasseigne said that the highest possible safety measures are in place at EDF’s 58 nuclear plants.

He said the company spent as much as €500m (£433m) on upgrades and €2bn (£1.7bn) on maintenance.

EDF is the world’s largest nuclear power generator and the biggest provider of nuclear power in the UK. It is the second biggest owner of infrastructure in the world, beaten only by the US government, with assets worth $115bn.

In January the company vowed to “engineer out the risk” of an accident at its power stations.

Responding to a UK government move to increase by seven-fold the liability payments that operators of nuclear installations must pay, EDF stated: “Liability in the event of an incident is only part of the answer. We believe it is far more important to engineer out the risk of an incident than to simply insure against it. Safety is the number one priority for EDF Energy and the nuclear industry.”

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