EDF given notice over CO2 release in nuclear plant

EDF Energy has been issued with an ‘Improvement Notice’ following an incident at one of its nuclear power stations. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said a failed pipe at […]

EDF Energy has been issued with an ‘Improvement Notice’ following an incident at one of its nuclear power stations.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said a failed pipe at the Heysham 1 nuclear power plant led to the release of around 30 tonnes of clean CO2 last month.

There was however no release of radioactive material and the two reactors remained operational during the incident.

The ONR said: “It is the duty holder’s responsibility to make and implement adequate arrangements for the regular and systematic examination, inspection, maintenance and testing of its facilities.

“Following a preliminary investigation, ONR inspectors judged that [EDF Energy] NGL [Nuclear Generation Ltd] had failed to meet this condition of its nuclear site licence, therefore compromising the safety of its employees.”

EDF Energy said it plans to repair the affected pipe.

Ian Stewart, Station Director at Heysham 1 added: “We have already taken action here on site to ensure that lessons are learned from this event.

“We will continue to work closely with our independent regulator, the ONR, to implement the highest standards of maintenance at Heysham 1.”

The energy company is required to show improvements to the ONR by the end of September 2015.

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