Trouble at' mill

Areva and Electricte de France (EDF), responsible for the Finnish and French Areva EPR reactor construction sites respectively, have both run into further problems causing additional delays. Furthermore, their rivalry threatens to impede safety as the EDF-managed construction team in France races to complete the reactor there by 2012, the same deadline newly set by the Finnish construction project that is already three years behind schedule.

In France, EDF has encountered problems with the concrete foundation, casting of the steel liner, poor on-site quality control and manufacturing of forged components by its subcontractors. In Finland, Areva has encountered similar problems with the concrete, faults in the steel welding, nonconformity of essential parts and a fire at the site in late July. The French anti-nuclear network, Sortir du Nucleaire, has called for an end to these fiascos, demanding a permanent halt to both projects.