160 Pages
ISBN : 978 2315 003 495
Through the crazy example of the dismantling of Brennilis power station, which lasts for 30 years, the author clears the accounts for the first time. He denounces the waste caused by the French energy policies, still opting for the primacy of nuclear since the 70’s.
Since its building in 1962 until its removal, started in 1985, Brennelis power station supplied electricity only during a dozen years. However, it has induced spendings during almost fifty years. It is the perfect embodiement and illustration of the waste caused by the persistence of what we call « all nuclear ». The prolongation of the reactors’ life and the works to strenghten the installations are part of the different tips EDF found to avoid the dismantling costs. He underlines that the maintenance of an aging equipment is even more expensive, and is at the expense of users. In the same way, the reprocessing and storage of nuclear waste costs are exorbitant.
All the more, the author looks after the human price : what about the “nomadic nuclear workers” who work on the yards until they have imbibed the highest dosage of radioactivity ? We also must consider the possibility of a nuclear accident which is very likely regarding the aging installations and the slowness of the dismantling. Brennillis is only one of the four examples of the other French power stations waiting for a dismantling.
This text asks the question of the alternative to nuclear in the field of energy and it deals with one of the main topics of 2012 presidential elections. Everything seems to prove France is late in the aera of renewable energies.
Claude-Marie Vadrot is a journalist. He worked for 20 years for the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche. Now he collaborates for both Politisand Mediapart newspapers. He is an expert in the energy issues, in the protection of Nature and countries affected by conflicts. He published several books, including Guerres et environnement(Delachaux et Niestlé, coll. « changer d’ère », 2005), L’horreur écologique(Delachaud et Niestlé, coll. « Changé d’ère », 2007) and Espèces en danger ! Enquête sur la biodiversité en France(Carnets de l’info, coll. « L’Enquête », 2007).
