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French nuclear watchdog upsets industry with straight talk
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/22/france-nuclear-watchdog-idUSL5N0Z13NO20150622?virtualBrandChannel=11563
Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:33am EDT
French nuclear watchdog upsets industry with straight talk
* French watchdog ASN disclosed EPR steel weak spots
* ASN's Chevet irks former EDF executives, union
* Reputation of French nuclear industry abroad is key
By Michel Rose
PARIS, June 22 (Reuters) - The head of France's nuclear watchdog has upset the industry by taking an increasingly assertive approach that critics say could jeopardise efforts to win more business overseas.
The tensions at the top of a key French industry bring into focus the role of the ASN, an independent body set up in 2006, whose decisions can cost nuclear companies billions of euros.
The ASN shocked the country's mainly pro-nuclear establishment in April when it disclosed that state-controlled Areva had found weak spots in the steel of its flagship European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) which is being built in Normandy.
ASN head Pierre-Franck Chevet made no attempt to play down the importance of the anomalies in a series of subsequent media interviews, calling them "serious, even very serious."
<snip>
The watchdog's independence marks a change from before 2006 when safety was under control of the industry ministry. Earlier, it was the responsibility of atomic research institute CEA, which created the French nuclear industry and still owns a majority of Areva.
<snip>
Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:33am EDT
French nuclear watchdog upsets industry with straight talk
* French watchdog ASN disclosed EPR steel weak spots
* ASN's Chevet irks former EDF executives, union
* Reputation of French nuclear industry abroad is key
By Michel Rose
PARIS, June 22 (Reuters) - The head of France's nuclear watchdog has upset the industry by taking an increasingly assertive approach that critics say could jeopardise efforts to win more business overseas.
The tensions at the top of a key French industry bring into focus the role of the ASN, an independent body set up in 2006, whose decisions can cost nuclear companies billions of euros.
The ASN shocked the country's mainly pro-nuclear establishment in April when it disclosed that state-controlled Areva had found weak spots in the steel of its flagship European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) which is being built in Normandy.
ASN head Pierre-Franck Chevet made no attempt to play down the importance of the anomalies in a series of subsequent media interviews, calling them "serious, even very serious."
<snip>
The watchdog's independence marks a change from before 2006 when safety was under control of the industry ministry. Earlier, it was the responsibility of atomic research institute CEA, which created the French nuclear industry and still owns a majority of Areva.
<snip>
