27 Apr (NucNet): Concrete for the nuclear island at Olkiluoto-3 will no longer be supplied to Areva by Forssan Betoni, a subsidiary of Finland’s Lemminkainen Corp, the Finnish company’s management said this week.
In the first quarter of last year Finnish regulators found concrete manufactured by Forssan was more porous than it should have been.
In a statement, management said Forssan will continue to supply concrete for the Olkiluoto-3 turbine island. The statement said studies did not reveal any deficiencies in the ready-mix concrete delivered by Forssan Betoni to the project.
Forssan Betoni will continue to deliver concrete until the end of the project to subcontractors working on the turbine island. In addition, Forssan Betoni’s plants will serve as backups for a new batching plant that will produce concrete for the nuclear island.
Areva and Siemens are building the 1,600-MW European pressurised water reactor unit (EPR) for Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO).
In December 2006 TVO said the commissioning of Olkiluoto-3 was scheduled for the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011, a delay of up to one year because construction work has been slower than planned.
The commissioning date had already been put back in July 2006, when Areva issued a statement referring to problems with concrete production on the site.
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
Foundation Stone Laid At New Finnish Unit (News No. 146, 12 September 2005)
New Commissioning Date Announced For Finland’s Olkiluoto-3 (News No. 257, 4 December 2006)
