The French authority of nuclear safety (ASN) authorizes the restart-up of Cattenom's reactor 3

On August 31, 2001, the French authority of nuclear safety (ASN) gave permission to Electricite de France (EdF) to restart the reactor no 3 of Cattenom's power plant. This reactor encountered important degradations of its fuel assemblies during its previous operating cycle which led to a level 1 incident on the INES scale. Thus the ASN has imposed to EdF a reinforced surveillance of the primary circuit of the reactor. This document brings together the different press releases, information notes, and rulings that have been written by the ASN about the defects that occurred on the fuel rods of Cattenom's reactor 3. (J.S.)