A technical hitch that halted construction of a new-generation French nuclear reactor is "not a disaster," France's Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Friday.
Fillon was speaking on a visit to Finland, where the first European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR) to be built is facing major delays.
Work stopped last week on the second EPR, being built in the northern French town of Flamanville, after France's Nuclear Security Authority (ASN) detected several "anomalies."
"It's not a disaster at all," Fillon said. "With regard to Flamanville, it's difficult to construct a nuclear power-station, and maximum precautions must be taken."
"There were difficulties with infrastructure, questions of concrete which have nothing to do with the reactor," he told a press conference.
"It is quite normal to take the time to resolve all these questions and not take the slightest risk in a field as sensitive as nuclear energy."
Flamanville is expected to enter service in 2012, but concrete-pouring operations at the site had to be suspended on May 21 after the ASN said steel reinforcement did not meet specifications and there were cracks in the concrete reactor platform.
Utilities giant Electricite de France (EDF), which is building the plant, said neither problem would cause delays to the construction of France's 59th nuclear reactor.
The first EPR, under construction in Finland by French nuclear giant Areva, has suffered repeated major delays linked to the quality of the concrete used, and is now expected to become operational in 2011 instead of 2009.
