Greenpeace said on Sunday it had received thousands of unsolicited confidential documents detailing how the Flamanville nuclear plant in Normandy, northwestern France, is protected.
"The documents contain a detailed map of the plant, the location of security cameras and descriptions of the electronic surveillance system," Greenpeace said in a statement.
The group says the documents were sent "by a third party who had no professional reason to access these documents and did not work for the nuclear industry in any capacity".
This means the information is readily available to the public, and could fall into the hands of parties with suspect intentions, warned Greenpeace.
'Structural problems' within EDF
"This could lead to a possible intrusion, sabotage or the theft of radioactive materials," the group said.
"A leak of documents of this magnitude shows that there is a structural problem within EDF. With an increase in the number of subcontractors, EDF no longer controls the flow of information and therefore the security of its installations," said Greenpeace France director Jean-François Julliard.
"It would be completely irresponsible in these conditions to continue with the delivery of nuclear materials as planned for the Flamanville site by the end of 2022, as per an authorisation given by the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN)."
C’était il y a qqs semaines, un appel de @greenpeacefr : « on aimerait vous parler de qq chose ». Des milliers de pages de documents et des dizaines d’appels + tard, cela donne cet article sur @Mediapart sur un sujet difficile : la sécurité nucléaire https://t.co/y87tlnFu2g
— Lindgaard (@Lindgaard) December 6, 2020
"A couple of weeks ago, Greenpeace contacted us. Thousands of documents and phone calls later, this article is the result of a discussion around the difficult subject of nuclear safety," wrote Jade Lingaard, journalist for the Mediapart website.
Multiple delays
The Flamanville site has been shut down for more than a year due to delays in its maintenance programme and safety issues.
EDF announced last month that reactor number 1 would restart on 31 January, with reactor number 2 to be fired back up on 30 November.
Last month, EDF requested an extension to the government's two-year limit placed on planned renovations, interrupted due to the Covid-19 lockdowns.
In response to Greenpeace's statement, EDF said the position of cameras and detectors described in the documents were not classified or protected in any way because they could be seen by anyone who visited the sites.
It also said it was not unusual for people to have access to classified documents in certain conditions and that the penal code had a clause to protect information and punish anyone who attempts to share it in an unauthorised manner.
40 years too many for a nuclear plant?
In a separate development, the ASN regulatory body has launched a public survey on the viability of keeping older generation French nuclear plants open in the future.
"Can nuclear power stations keep running after 40 years in service?" is the question put to the public until 15 January 2021, a poll which is part of the 2015 energy transition law.
The question concerns 32 reactors of 900 megawatts which came into service in the 1980s, and provide electricity for some 400,000 households.
ASN has asked EDF to carry out technical checks to insure that necessary maintenance can be conducted and that enough water can be injected into the reactors in case of a serious accident.
