WI : Superphénix kept going

Johannes Parisiensis

Superphénix was a fast breeder reactor conceived in 1968, built from 1974 to 1981 and its production of electric power began in 1986.

In the aftermath of Three Mile Island, this reactor attracted many opposition, including a rocket attack, and actually spent halp of its existence in juridical procedures in administrative courts.

In 1997, Mrs. Dominique Voynet, a Green Minister for Environment, closed the plant.

So, what if the project was allowed to proceed to its end?
 

urielventis

Superphoenix was a victim of the political cohabitation, socialist need the green party to won so they give it as a "gift".

At least this is what is often heard...

Don't forget that superphoenix was an experimental design, phoenix (in Marcoule) was a demonstrator.
So a lot of problem happen, especially with the molten sodium coolant system.
63 month of operation for 25 of outage caused by technical problems...
Not a good score.

On a political side, Superphoenix was a critical target for antinuclear parties. If fast breeder work it will ensure that less "ultimate" waste are produced, so it remove an inconvenient of the whole nuclear industry.

I would honestly say that, has superphoenix been allowed to continue, it would have been the less reliable reactor in France. This would have cast doubt on the fast breeder viability.
In my opinion, the system should have been research more.
Soviet design with molten sodium/lead as coolant (submarine reactor) was way more advanced at this time, we should have share the tech (impossible in the cold war).


ps: 5500 tons of contaminated sodium coolant are still stored there...
a mess
 

Johannes Parisiensis

urielventis said:
Superphoenix was a victim of the political cohabitation, socialist need the green party to won so they give it as a "gift".

At least this is what is often heard...

Don't forget that superphoenix was an experimental design, phoenix (in Marcoule) was a demonstrator.
So a lot of problem happen, especially with the molten sodium coolant system.
63 month of operation for 25 of outage caused by technical problems...
Not a good score.

On a political side, Superphoenix was a critical target for antinuclear parties. If fast breeder work it will ensure that less "ultimate" waste are produced, so it remove an inconvenient of the whole nuclear industry.

I would honestly say that, has superphoenix been allowed to continue, it would have been the less reliable reactor in France. This would have cast doubt on the fast breeder viability.
In my opinion, the system should have been research more.
Soviet design with molten sodium/lead as coolant (submarine reactor) was way more advanced at this time, we should have share the tech (impossible in the cold war).


ps: 5500 tons of contaminated sodium coolant are still stored there...
a mess
Click to expand...

I agree with you it was an interesting road and, compared to the EPR's woes in Finland, more reliable.
 
Michel Van

Michel Van

Next to political problems and terrorist attacks by swiss Chaïm Nissim,
Superphoenix (SPX) had allot of technical problems

One of them was corrosion and leaks in primary cooling system.
because the cooling fluid is liquid sodium !
Another was damage by heavy snowfall on reactor building in 1990.

of the 132 months SPX was used
were 63 months of normal operations, mostly at low power around 30%
the rest were spent on halt due to political and administrative issues.
or outages due to fixing technical problems of the prototype.
(this repairs are total for 25 months)

So had SPX poor servis record of 47%
This make it perfect scapegoat in political gamble what follow in 1996.
and in end Lionel Jospin to please his Green political allies, order the closure of SPX

Today is SPX a "Temporary" Nuclear waste Storage site.
for it's 650 fuel rods and 5,500 tonnes of radioactive sodium coolant fluid…

by the way
French politician have not yet decided, if france has to build permanent disposal site for nuclear waste...
 
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