Both Eskom and the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) have dismissed safety concerns raised by activists over the corrosion of the Koeberg nuclear plant containment wall, saying they are fully cognisant of the issue and the wall is constantly monitored.
The Koeberg Alert Alliance, a group of individuals and organisations concerned about the Koeberg reactors, brought an access to information request to Eskom in 2020 to compel it to provide documents on the state of the wall, after a tip-off from an insider. The report was provided to the group last week.
It reveals that “40 years of exposure to sea air at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station has damaged the concrete of the containment buildings. At one stage the concrete containment dome was found to have cracked around the entire 110m circumference,” said the group.
The containment walls are the outer shells of the reactor buildings, which are built to withstand pressure in the event of an accident and prevent the leaking of radiation into the environment. Sea water has corroded the reinforced steel in the concrete.
Eskom eventually provided the group with a heavily redacted report that describes repairs taken up until 2018. The redacted sections were cause for alarm, said the activists, as they blacked out the history of the project as well as a lot of technical information.
Eskom has said it is “fully cognisant of the risk of corrosion of civil structures at the Koeberg Power Station, which is a result of the station being located in a corrosive environment. Ongoing testing on the Koeberg containment buildings, which house the reactor and associated nuclear components, have proven the structures to be capable of withstanding the most severe accident. This containment programme has been managed closely since construction”, it said.
The NNR, which monitors and enforces safety regulations at Koeberg and all SA’s nuclear sites, said on Monday that “Koeberg Nuclear Power Station currently complies with regular tests required by the regulator. Furthermore, with the information at our disposal, we can confirm that, despite the concrete cracking and delamination observed on the outer surface, the containment structures remain currently effective for protecting the environment from radiation during accident conditions”.
“The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is continuously monitored to ensure the operation of the plant complies with nuclear safety requirements at all stages of operation,” added CEO Dr Bismark Tyobeka.
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