EDF: Fire At Fessenheim Nuclear Plant Rapidly Extinguished

 PARIS –  A fire at the Fessenheim nuclear plant in Eastern France broke out in the building of the second reactor, but was rapidly put out, had no impact on the nuclear reactor's safety, the surrounding environment, or power output, French power group Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) said Wednesday.

The fire broke out at 0630 GMT on a part of the cooling system within the reactor's machine room, outside the nuclear element of the installation. The plant's own crew quickly extinguished the fire, EDF said in a statement on its web site, noting firemen were also called on site and confirmed the incident was over.

Francois Hollande, the socialist party candidate in the ongoing French presidential election, has pledged to close Fessenheim, France's oldest nuclear plant, with two reactors both 35 years old, if elected.

However, France's nuclear safety agency last year considered the reactors could remain operational for ten more years, providing some strengthening works are conducted, following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March last year.

On Apr. 5, a fire started within EDF's second nuclear reactor building at its Penly plant, in Normandy, which triggered a radioactive water leak after a joint broke and forced the halt of the reactor operation.

The fire was put out during the night and the leak stopped, although EDF hasn't been able to restart the reactor as the ASN's greenlight is still pending while an investigation over the incident is being conducted.

EDF, which is state-controlled, is the world's largest nuclear operator with 58 reactors in France and 17 reactors in the U.K.

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