The turn will need to be confirmed. But the first signs are there. The senators approved at the end of January a text of law facilitating the construction of new nuclear reactors in France. Thanks to the planned streamlining of administrative procedures, construction sites could last two or three years less. At the same time, the hypothesis of operating certain power stations for a period of eighty years – as in the United States – arose in the public debate.
“We did not expect so much pragmatism in the recent period,” confide several atom specialists. The Nuclear Safety Authority even says it is ready to closely study the probabilistic models used by the Americans to estimate the safety of an installation, whereas until now these digital tools were not integrated into the French strategy.
The dawn of a cultural revolution on the French side? For the moment, our security requirements remain much higher than those of other countries, without this necessarily being necessary. Corrosion problems in some reactors show it: faced with this kind of difficulty, the Americans “sleeve” the pipes that pose a problem. In other words, they wrap them in a healthy layer, whereas in France, this option does not suit the safety authorities. We must therefore cut off the damaged parts and replace them. A complex solution, and more expensive. The future will tell us to what extent France is developing its practices. But the experts are convinced: the atom sector can still gain in flexibility.
