Hong Kong power firm CLP confirms Daya Bay nuclear reactor components were made by embattled Areva
French company in the spotlight after serious structural flaws were found in the lid and bottom of a European pressurised reactor similar to those being built at nearby Taishan
Power company CLP has confirmed that reactor pressure vessel “components” at a nuclear plant in Daya Bay, Shenzhen – which supplies Hong Kong with a quarter of its electricity – were manufactured by embattled French nuclear firm Areva’s Creusot Forge plant.
Framatome, Areva’s predecessor, supplied the nuclear equipment for the Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station when it was built in the early 1990s. Creusot Forge was then owned by Framatome and now by Areva.
The revelation came as Greenpeace International published a list on Thursday of at least a dozen countries in Europe and around the world operating reactors fitted with parts made at Creusot Forge, which it believed could also be “potentially affected by errors or falsifications”.
French manufacturers Areva and Electricite de France (EDF) have been in the spotlight since serious structural flaws were found in the lid and bottom of their Flamanville 3 European pressurised reactor (EPR) in Normandy last year.
In April, French nuclear regulator ASN announced that an internal review by Areva at the Le Creusot plant revealed irregularities in manufacturing checks on about 400 parts.