The Brennilis

Nuclear Power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...

Plant (EL-4) is a decommissioned site located in the

Monts d'Arrée The Monts d'Arrée, or Menezioù Are in Breton, are an ancient mountain range in western Brittany which forms part of the Armorican massif. Historically it marked the border of the regions of Cornouaille Cornouaille (; br, Kernev, Kerne) ...

in the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Brennilis in

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

History

The

Commissariat à l'énergie atomique The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission or CEA (French: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and securit ...

began construction of this experimental reactor moderated with heavy water and cooled with

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

( HWGCR) in 1962. The reactor had a planned output power of 70 MWe. The plant achieved criticality in December, 1966. In 1971, however, the

French government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...

elected to use

pressurized water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) i ...

technology developed in the United States as their model design. On August 15, 1975, two explosions slightly damaged a turbine and destroyed a telephone circuit. The Liberation Front of Brittany claimed responsibility. In 1979 the group destroyed electrical lines going from the plant to the grid, and with there being no grid to supply power to, the plant shut down. This was the only time in history that a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

group successfully stopped operation of a nuclear power plant. In 1985 the reactor was shut down permanently. The cost of decommissioning is currently estimated to be 482 million euros, much greater than initial estimates.

Decommissioning experience

This nuclear plant marks the first

decommissioning Decommissioning is a general term for a formal process to remove something from an active status, and may refer to: Infrastructure * Decommissioned offshore * Decommissioned highway * Greenfield status of former industrial sites * Nuclear decommi ...

of a complete nuclear power station in France. EDF and CEA announced their intention to make this a transparent process so that it can be used as a model for future decommissioning operations at other plants. The process is divided into 3 stages.

Stage 1

This stage began in 1985, and is similar to a

refueling outage The nuclear fuel cycle, also called nuclear fuel chain, is the progression of nuclear fuel through a series of differing stages. It consists of steps in the ''front end'', which are the preparation of the fuel, steps in the ''service period'' in ...

; the fuel is moved to the spent fuel pool, but new fuel is not loaded, and the fuel on site is eventually transported elsewhere. It consists of: * final shut-down * discharge of the nuclear fuel * draining of cooling circuits

Stage 2

In 1995, a public inquiry was held. In 1996, it was decided that a feasibility study for the "greening" of the site would be submitted by the end of 1999. Stage 2 began in 1997, consisting of: * decontamination and disassembling of the buildings except for the reactor itself * evacuation of the nuclear waste * containment of the reactor pressure vessel On December 13, 2000, a rise in the ground water level caused a flood in the chemical processing building. In January 2001, a fire broke out in the joint inner building. In 2005, stage 2 was officially complete.

Stage 3

Stage 3 consists mostly of containing the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and is currently underway. * dismantling of the

steam generators A steam generator is a form of low water-content boiler, similar to a flash steam boiler. The usual construction is as a spiral coil of water-tube, arranged as a single, or monotube, coil. Circulation is once-through and pumped under pressure, ...

* dismantling of the reactor pressure vessel * demolition of the

containment building A containment building is a reinforced steel, concrete or lead structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radioactive steam or gas to a maximum pressure in the range of . The containment i ...

References

{{Reflist Former nuclear power stations in France