Tricastin reactor 2 to be off for several weeks

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

PARIS, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Unplanned works at the 900-megawatt (MW) nuclear reactor 2 at the troubled Tricastin plant in southeast France will take another few weeks, EDF said on Monday.

An incident occurred at the reactor 2 on Sept. 8 during the refuelling of the reactor, when fuel assemblies got stuck in the pressure vessel.

This incident was the latest in a series since June at the site, prompting public outrage.

"It will take another few weeks before operations restart at the reactor," an EDF spokeswoman said.

EDF is in the process of resizing a robot it had manufactured to rescue the parts, as the tool was initially too large to enter the reactor.

The nuclear safety authority has to give the tool the go-ahead before it can proceed to perform its rescue operation

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