An examination into the failure of safety valves related to the pressuriser of the Areva EPR reactor is “ongoing” and the conclusions have not yet been submitted to the country’s regulator, France’s Institut de Radioprotection et Sûrete Nucleaire (IRSN) said in a response to media reports about the valves.
On 8 June 2015, reports quoted a “damning confidential report” by IRSN warning of the possible malfunction of the pressure valves, which could cause a reactor meltdown. IRSN said the report was actually a set of slides prepared for a meeting with EDF as part of a technical information exchange. IRSN said it will submit its conclusions and recommendations to France’s regulator in the “summer of 2015”. IRSN began a review of the safety valves last year and any reports can only be made public by France’s regulator once the review is completed