EDF wants to leave faulty Flamanville weldings in place

As we watched the storied Notre-Dame Cathedral burn in Paris this week, one theory about the fire's cause was related to welding. The fire shocked France and the world. So should the admission of 66 defective welds found in key safety areas at the Flamanville nuclear reactor construction site on the French coast. Eight of the welds are inaccessible for repair so EDF has asked for an exemption to avoid replacing them. Flamanville, EDF's flagship EPR, should have been sunk long ago. Instead, like Boeing and its 373 Max, the manufacturer is hoping to dodge disaster by avoiding the cost in time and money for replacement welds. It's an unacceptable risk given the potential consequences if the reactor welds don't hold. Fortunately, no one died at the Notre Dame fire. The same is unlikely to be true should Flamanville complete its construction phase with these known defects left in place. Originally set to open in 2012, Flamanville may well be delayed beyond 2020, depending on an imminently expected decision by the French nuclear safety regulator on whether to replace the faulty welding. Meanwhile the cost of the project has almost quadrupled and this, combined with numerous other safety flaws already uncovered should prompt its immediate cancellation along with the still incomplete EPRs in Finland and the UK. More