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What are the issues of having a nuclear neighbour? And who's keeping an eye on it in case things go wrong?
With energy security and soaring prices dominating the headlines since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, France’s reliance on nuclear power has become a topic of debate, Express decided to speak to the island's emergency planning officer...
The country’s principal provider of electricity, EDF, is shortly to be nationalised, which in itself has cast a spotlight on the much-delayed Flamanville 3 reactor, which is just over 31 miles to the north-east of Jersey.
Due to open in 2013, the third reactor is still not operational after cracks were found in the concrete dome and other problems mounted up, including faulty welds on pipes and covid-related issues.
The decade-delayed project initially had a 3-billion-euro budget but will now cost 12.4 billion euros.
The ‘European Pressurised Reactor’ being built there, EDF’s next-generation nuclear reactor, has sustained multiple delays and cost overruns elsewhere in the world.
Meanwhile, the large nuclear treatment and recycling plant at Le Hague, and its storage facility nearby, has also been in the news.
Pictured: Orano and Andra Le Hague is part of a huge nuclear complex in the north-west of the Cotentin Peninsula and can be seen from Jersey at night and on clear days.
Orano Le Hague, which cleans up spent nuclear fuel for France and other countries, has recently been awarded a contract by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency for the transport and treatment of 731 used fuel-rod assemblies.
And the nearby Andra Le Hague storage centre has plans to increase its capacity by 65%, which would mean it could hold another 6,500 tonnes of nuclear waste.
After Brexit and the subsequent fishing dispute, one might assume that relations between France and Jersey were frosty, but Kevin Murphy – the emergency planning officer for the Channel Islands – said that relations and communications were good on all matters nuclear.
“We have a good relationship with the French authorities, which is managed through the Bureau des Iles Anglo-Normandes,” he said.
Mr Murphy said: “Andra La Hague has recently applied to have more quantity and different type of spent nuclear fuel stored. We were consulted on that, and we sent a very robust reply to them, asking to be included in their emergency planning and kept informed along the way.
“The Government of Jersey was directly contacted about the proposed plans by the Prefet of La Manche in August 2021.
“This was considered by the island’s Radiation Advisory Group, which is an officer-level group, with a Jersey-wide role, and includes policy experts on radiation and public health, and representatives from External Relations.
“The RAG ensures there is a unified approach to engagement with the French authorities on this matter. This unified approach is important to ensure that the relationship remains open and constructive.”
He added: “Following advice from the RAG, the Chief Minister of Jersey wrote to the French authorities on behalf of the island.
“The letter outlined the need to ensure that Jersey is included in any safety and risk assessment process; that consideration is given to Jersey in the development of any emergency plans; and that the need to ensure that any shipping routes continue to be planned to reduce risk in Jersey waters.”
Addressing the shipments of waste from and to Japan, passing close to Channel-island waters, Mr Murphy said: “Orano La Hague has reprocessed spent nuclear fuel rods for other jurisdictions historically, and the new contract signed with the Japanese is not unexpected.
“It should also be remembered that with any contracted service for a foreign jurisdiction, it is always the case that on completion of this service, the host nation must take return of both the reprocessed fuel rods and any waste spent fuel that is a by-product of this - the only spent products stored on-site are those from French nuclear facilities.
“The fuel travels by sea into Cherbourg and while every boat has the right to pass through our waters, the ships are incredibly safe with their own build criteria. The containers that the fuel is transported in are built to a set standard and when the spent fuel waste is transported in the other direction, it a 500 kg container holding vitrified containers of nuclear waste.
“In the incredibly unlikely event that something happens, the vitrification process keeps all of that nuclear waste inside.
“The French have recycled spent fuel for the Japanese before. It is a fairly big contract, and Orano Le Hague has the capability and capacity to do that.”
Mr Murphy said that Jersey was also formally consulted regarding the two operational Pressurised Water Reactors and the delayed but soon-to-be-commissioned European Pressurised Reactor at Flamanville, which is closer to the island than Le Hague but less conspicuous as it is shielded from view by a rocky headland.
“The Chief Minister was approached by the French Authorities as recently as November 2021 and asked to comment on the issues with the EPR,” he said. “Again, on the advice of the RAG, he sent a robust reply expressing our concerns regarding the construction issues that have been faced, and the need for Jersey to be considered in all planning matters.
“Jersey is also involved in the ‘Commission Locale D'Information’ groups that are in place to represent those who may be impacted by any aspect of the French nuclear facilities.
“The officer who attends the CLIs on our behalf is called Robin Gonard, who is the head of the Health and Safety Executive in Guernsey. He is French and has a background in the civil nuclear industry in the UK so is a very knowledgeable representative.”
He added that BIAN, the Channel Islands’ office in Caen, also receive the reports from the French nuclear watchdog ASN following inspections or exercises, and the Channel Islands were looking to reinforce theirrelationship with ASN in future.
Pictured: The Flamanville 3 reactor at an earlier stage of construction. The project is ten years late and four times more expensive than first budgeted.
“These reports are scrutinised by the RAG, and where needed, representation is made by either engagement with the CLIs or through government channels,” he said.
“Flamanville 3 has had a number of issues since they first laid the bowl it sits in; the nuclear fuel has been delivered but it is not open yet.
“But we are very comforted, firstly by the operational expertise of EDF in running the reactors; and secondly, the vociferous nature of the nuclear watchdog, ASN, who have no problem at all with stopping operations and rapping EDF over the knuckles if they need to.”
Mr Murphy said that Jersey had detailed plans in place to deal with nuclear or radiological incidents, and the island worked closely with the UK.
“Orano Le Hague and Flamanville are both surrounded by PPI (Offsite Emergency Plan) zones,” he said. “Because Le Hague carries out nuclear reprocessing with no fissile reactions going on, its PPI zone is two kilometres for evacuation if things go wrong and then between two and five kilometres for ‘seek shelter and wait further instructions’.
“There is no need to issue iodine [pills] around Orano Le Hague because the products that come out of there do not contain radioactive iodine so stable iodine wouldn’t make any difference.”
He added: “The risk to do with Orano Le Hague is more to do with contamination. The whole site sits within a bunded area and water from the facility and rainwater are only released once they have been measured multiple times before it is released into the sea. There is a still a contamination risk there, but it is miniscule.
“With Flamanville, you have two working power stations, with one due to come on line. Incidents of the type seen at Chernobyl and Fukushima are, for us, the greatest cause of concern but are incredibly unlikely.
“After Fukushima in 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear accident, the French built a breakwater around Flamanville, even though we still on a stable plate and we don’t experience significant earthquakes.
“If they did have a serious accident which would merit invoking their PPI plan, everyone in the first 5 km would need to evacuate immediately and everyone between 5 and 15 km would be told to find shelter and wait further instructions.
“We are 51 km away from Flamanville and the inverse square law applies here, so if you go twice as far away you are four times less likely to get reactive stuff. It’s obviously weather dependent as well but we are fairly comforted in terms of our distances.
“So, Channel Islanders can be reassured: all the risks sit on our community risk register and we spend an awful lot of time looking at this.
“In both islands we have Radiation Advisory Groups made up of subject-matter experts locally and we can also reach quickly into UK-based subject-matter experts if needed. We also have strong lines of communication with the French authorities, including those who closely regulate the country’s nuclear industry.”
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