On 3 December 2012 EDF was convicted of multiple negligence having led, in January 2010, to the discharge of 450 liters of radioactive waste. in the water table (natural environment) from the Golfech nuclear power plant. EDF withdrew the appeal in cassation in November 2013 (see our article). A first victory.
10 years later, on 9 September 2022, the Bordeaux Court of Appeal sentenced EDF for a very large release of radioactive gas, in the atmosphere this time, at the Golfech nuclear power plant on 19 October 2016 (see press release below).
Here then, if necessary, is a new proof of the lie about nuclear safety.
Contrary to what the government wants us to believe, nuclear energy is neither safe nor clean, it does not give us energy independence and it cannot save us from climate change. Nuclear power is an ecological, industrial and economic disaster.
Furthermore, the war in Ukraine demonstrates the danger of nuclear power from a strategic point of view.
Getting out of nuclear power has never been so urgent! Let’s apply the scenario Negawatt !
Joint press release of the “Sortir dunuclear” network and the Stop Golfech-VSDNG associations, Les Amis de la Terre Midi-Pyrénées, France Nature Environnement 82, SEPANLOG, France Nature Environnement Midi-Pyrénées, French association of thyroid patients
On 19 October 2016, following a series of malfunctions, the Golfech (Tarn-et-Garonne) nuclear power plant released a huge amount of radioactivity into the environment in just a few minutes. The police court of Montauban and the Court of Appeal of Toulouse, having refused to sanction EDF, our associations had led the fight against impunity of polluters to the Court of Cassation. Having decided the continuation of the proceedings, a new hearing was held on 1 April 2022 at the Bordeaux Court of Appeal. On 9 September 2022, the latter finally sentenced EDF.
After years of work, our associations welcome this decision which finally comes to sanction the faults of EDF that led to this significant release into the environment. In a context of serious deterioration in the security of the plant in recent years, a sign of impunity would have been deplorable.
A significant radioactive release into the environment reveals worrying malfunctions
On October 19, 2016, the Golfech Nuclear Power Plant released a large gaseous radioactive release. The released radioactivity skyrocketed to the point of exceeding the chimney alarm threshold for 2 minutes. In total, 136 billion becquerels were released into the wild, including 78 billion in this 2-minute sequence alone!
This overcoming is not to be taken lightly: the unloading thresholds, tailor-made according to the operator’s proposals, are set very high, according to excellent economic and technical standards, and not to sanitary standards. Furthermore, according to some researchers, such discharge spikes are likely to cause health impacts for local residents.1.
This pollution was the result of a series of malfunctions, both technical and organizational, which revealed poor safety: the sheaths containing the nuclear fuel of reactor 1, presumably perfectly sealed, were losing radioactivity. This problem was known to the operator since June 2016. In addition, the degasser, which separates radioactive gases from liquid effluents so that they can be stored for a minimum of 30 days to allow the radioactivity to decay, had been misused and had a malfunction. As a result, these gases were then released directly into the environment2…
Six years later, EDF finally sentenced!
Our associations have refused to allow this pollution to go unpunished. After filing a complaint on 28 November 2016, the “Sortir dunuclear” network took EDF directly to court on 17 October 2017. The French Association of Thyroid Patients, Friends of the Earth Midi-Pyrénées, France Nature Environnement Midi-Pyrénées, France Nature Environnement 82, SEPANLOG and Stop-Golfech-VSDNG have initiated civil proceedings.
On 10 January 2019, despite the overwhelming facts, the Montauban Police Court acquitted EDF. Faced with this incomprehensible decision, our associations have filed an appeal. On 10 February 2020, the Toulouse Court of Appeal acknowledged that EDF had indeed committed faults in the context of this case, but had not convicted it.
Our associations then filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, accompanied by a priority issue of constitutionality (QPC). On June 29, 2021, the sentence of the Court of Cassation reopened the way for a potential conviction for EDF.
On April 1, 2022, a new hearing was held at the Bordeaux Court of Appeal. The latter, with a sentence of 9 September 2022, acknowledged the faults committed by EDF and sentenced it to pay compensation for the damage suffered. After so many years of struggle, our associations are happy that the impunity of the polluter is coming to an end (see our analysis in the appendix).
A welcome sentence in a context of degraded security
This belief finally marks the end of EDF’s impunity, as the situation at the Golfech nuclear power plant continues to cause concern year after year. In 2022, the Nuclear Safety Authority still believes that the performance of the plant in terms of nuclear safety leaves something to be desired, as evidenced by the numerous accidents that occurred in 2021; it also mentions the “lack of competence and control of the activities” in terms of maintenance. Finally, stress corrosion defects are suspected on reactor # 1. The condemnation received by EDF can sound like a signal in a degraded situation.
Find the legal file: https://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/Important-rejet-radioactif-a-la-centrale-49838
Contacts press:
Marie Frachisse (lawyer, Network “Exiting nuclear power”) – 07 62 58 01 23
Samuel Delalande (lawyer) – 06 01 95 93 59
Marc Saint Aroman (Friends of the Earth Midi-Pyrenees) – 05 61 35 11 06
Communications manager:
Charlotte Mijeon – 06 64 66 01 23
ATTACHED
A long struggle that will allow legal progress against the impunity of the polluter
In its decision of 10 February 2020, the Toulouse Court of Appeal had acknowledged that EDF had indeed committed faults in this case, but had not sentenced it to pay compensation, invoking the absence of prejudice for our associations. , which we dispute.
This question of harm goes far beyond whether or not to get financial compensation, they are not fighting this fight to take advantage of it. It was a question here of making it clear that this pollution has damaged the objects we defend (protection of the environment, fight against radioactive pollution).
An appeal was then proposed to the Supreme Court, accompanied by a priority issue of constitutionality (QPC) on compliance with the Constitution of article 1247 of the civil code which only allows reparation of the non-negligible attack on the environment.
This QPC was sent to the Constitutional Council by the Court of Cassation. On February 5, 2021, it held that the limitation of the obligation to compensate ecological damage to non-negligible damage was not contrary to the principle set out in Article 4 of the Environmental Charter according to which everyone must contribute to repair the damage caused to the environment environment. However, this decision did not put an end to the proceedings before the Court of Cassation, which had yet to rule on the question of the damage caused to the associations by the violation of the rules on nuclear safety.
In the cassation sentence of 29 June 2021, the Court held that “the only violation of the rules is capable of causing damages that can be compensated for by the associations”. This ruling allowed the case to be re-examined and the Bordeaux Court of Appeal to recognize the damage caused to the associations in this case.
In a context of aging of the nuclear fleet and the accumulation of anomalies, compliance with the rules governing nuclear safety should not be considered optional!
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