The Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) has reported that the Cattenom nuclear power plant, operated by EDF, declared a "significant" level 1 safety incident on Thursday 13 July 2023.
CGDIS provided a timeline of the events leading up to this level 1 safety incident (measured from 0 to 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale): at 05:17 on Sunday 9 July 2023, as part of the operations to restart Reactor 2, the power plant teams carried out a periodic test of a steam generator emergency feed pump. During this test, they found that a pressure sensor in the pump lubrication circuit was not working correctly, due to the incorrect position of a valve. The pump was then deemed unavailable, which, according to CGDIS, was not permitted by the technical operating specifications in the state in which the reactor had been since 5 July 2023. Once this fault was detected, the teams put the valve back in the correct position and carried out a new periodic test. According to CGDIS, this incident had no real impact on safety, as three other pumps capable of performing the same function remained available. Due to its late detection, however, the management of the Cattenom nuclear power plant declared this event as a level 1 safety incident to the Nuclear Safety Authority on Thursday 13 July 2023.
CGDIS added that Reactor 4, which was taken offline on Wednesday 12 July 2023, was safely reconnected to the electricity network around 18:00 that same day. The teams at the plant reportedly carried out the necessary interventions and Reactor 4 is now once again supplying the electrical network.
