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Nuclear Agency Allows Olkiluoto Welding to Resume

The nuclear safety agency STUK says that the French company building Finland's fifth commercial nuclear reactor can re-start welding work despite microscopic cracks found on the outer surface of some steel pipes.

 Ydinvoimalan rakennustyömaa Olkiluodossa.
Helsingissä vastustetaan tänään Olkiluodon kaltaisia, uusia ydinvoimalatyömaita. Image: YLE

STUK called a halt to welding work in France pending reports from the power utility TVU and French builder Areva.

It now says the cracks on pipes for the Olkiluoto 3 reactor can be rendered harmless by re-welding them.

Areva and Germany's Siemens are building the world's first pressurised water nuclear reactor for TVO on the south-west coast near Pori.

The project has been plagued by massive cost overruns, delays and legal disputes.

In late May, The New York Times called the Olkiluoto project a "cautionary tale" about next generation reactors, noting that "the reactor's 3 billion euro price tag has climbed at least 50 percent" and that Areva and TVO "are no longer willing to make certain predictions on when it will go online".

Sources: YLE, AFP, New York Times