French energy provider EDF has announced that a larger-than-expected crack has been observed in the emergency water pipe of a reactor at Penly 1 Nuclear Power Plant in the Seine-Maritime region.
Upon the detection of the crack, the activities of the reactors in many nuclear power plants, including the power plant in question, were stopped for safety reasons.
The crack is considered to be related to the corrosion detected in many reactors in 2021.
Julien Collet, Director of the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), also stated that the cessation of activities will not last for months.
A radioactive leak was detected in the country’s oldest nuclear power plant, which supplies electricity to the city of Lyon, on February 13.
EDF stated that high levels of tritium leakage were observed in measurements made in December 2022 in the wastewater of two reactors at the Bugey Nuclear Power Plant, 30 kilometers from Lyon.