Growing difficulties in nuclear plant operations

The IRSN (Institute for Radiation protection and Nuclear Safety) report on the safety of the French nuclear power plants in 2007 shows a trend towards more difficulties in plant operations. This increase has several causes. One is positive: the operators detect and report better the discrepancies with the technical operating specifications. Another one is the more frequent unavailability of the equipment important for the safety that compels operators to stop the reactor temporarily. The human factor is also very important and it appears through the insufficient preparation of maintenance operations or the lack of adequate documentation for instance. There is also discrepancies between nuclear power plants, some are more efficient than others. (A.C.)