France Pulls Plug on Country's Oldest Nuclear Plant
VOA News｜Europe
June 28, 2020 01:02 AM (source)
France Pulls Plug on Country's Oldest Nuclear Plant ( Part 1 )
法國最古老的核電廠將吹熄燈號 ( 上篇 ）
June 28, 2020 01:02 AM
AFP
FESSENHEIM, FRANCE –
France's oldest nuclear power plant will shut down on Tuesday after four decades in operation, to the delight of environmental activists who have long warned of contamination risks, but stoking worry for the local economy.
The Fessenheim plant, opened in 1977 and already three years over its projected 40-year life span, became a target for anti-nuclear campaigners after the catastrophic meltdown at Fukushima in Japan in 2011.
Despite a pledge by then-president Francois Hollande just months after the Fukushima disaster to close Fessenheim – on the Rhine river near France's eastern border with Germany and Switzerland – it was not until 2018 that his successor Emmanuel Macron gave the final green light.
Run by state-owned energy company EDF (Electricite de France), one of Fessenheim's two reactors was disconnected in February.
The second is to be taken offline early Tuesday, but it will be several months before the reactors have cooled enough for the used fuel to be removed.
That process should be completed by 2023, and the plant is not expected to be fully dismantled before 2040 at the earliest.
"We hope, above all, to be the last victims of this witch hunt against nuclear" [sic] energy, Fessenheim union representative Anne Laszlo said ahead of the closure that will see about 150 families depart the tiny Alsatian community of 2,500 inhabitants this summer.
More will follow, with only 294 people needed on site for the fuel removal process until 2023, and about 60 after that for the final disassembly.
By the end of 2017, Fessenheim had over 1,000 employees and service providers on site. .
There is no legal limit on the life span of French nuclear power stations, but the EDF had envisaged a 40-year ceiling for all second-generation reactors, which use pressurized water technology.
法國（France）運作最久的核能(nuclear)發電廠在運轉 40 年後，預定於週二（編按：2020 年 6 月 30 日）關閉。對此，長期以來對核電廠提出汙染風險(contamination risk)警告的環保主義者(environmental activist)感到欣喜，但此舉也引發人們對當地經濟前景的堪憂。
費森海姆核電廠（Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant）於 1977 年啟用，原預計 40 年後除役，現已逾期運轉 3 年。該核電廠在 2011 年日本（Japan）福島（Fukushima）核電廠災難性熔毀(meltdown，註 1)後成為反核人士(anti-nuclear campaigner)攻擊的目標。
費森海姆核電廠位於法國東部萊茵河（Rhine River）邊，靠近德國（Germany）與瑞士（Switzerland）的邊界。在福島核災後的數月，儘管時任法國總統法蘭索瓦．歐蘭德（Francois Hollande）承諾(pledge，註 2)會關閉費森海姆核電廠，但該決定直至 2018 年才由他的繼任者(successor)艾曼紐．馬克宏（Emmanuel Macron）總統完成最終批准。
費森海姆核電廠由國營(state-owned)企業法國電力公司（Electricite de France）營運，其 2 座反應爐(reactor)已有 1 座於 2 月（編按：2020 年）停止運作。
第 2 座反應爐將於週二一早關閉，但反應爐得花費數月時間才足以冷卻到能移除核廢料的狀態。
此一過程應在 2023 年前完工，而核電廠的完全拆卸(dismantle)最快也要到 2040 年才會完成。
「最重要的是，我們希望自己會是最後一批反核獵物行徑的受害者(victim)。」費森海姆工會代表安妮．拉斯洛（Anne Laszlo，音譯）在核電廠除役前說道。阿爾薩斯（Alsace）社區約有 2500 位居民(inhabitant，註 3)，其中約有 150 個家庭將於今夏搬離。
其餘的人也將陸續搬走，僅留下 294 人在當地進行核廢料的清除作業至 2023 年，並於那之後留下約 60 人進行最終拆卸(disassembly)。
截至 2017 年底，費森海姆核電廠有逾千名的員工與包商人員。
法國核電廠的壽命並沒有受法律限制，但是法國電力公司為其採用壓水式技術(pressurized water technology)的二代反應爐全數擬定(envisage)了 40 年的使用上限(ceiling，註 4)。
Language Notes
註 1： meltdown 於本文指「（核電廠核燃料的）熔毀」；本字也常指「（尤指金融方面的）災難」
註 2： pledge 於本文為名詞，意指「誓言；諾言；保證」；本字也可作動詞，意指「發誓；保證」
註 3： inhabitant 注意重音在第 2 音節
註 4： ceiling 於本文指「（通常指款項的）上限」；本字也常指「天花板，頂棚」
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Check your comprehension!
Choose the BEST answer to each of the questions below. After you finish, highlight the parentheses to reveal the hidden answers.
1. ( B ) According to the article, what can be implied about the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant?
(A) Its closure began during President Hollande's term.
(B) Its closure began during President Macron's term.
(C) Its closure ended during President Hollande's term.
(D) Its closure ended during President Macron's term.
2. ( A ) According to the article, what needs to take place before the removal of used fuel?
(A) Reactors need to cool down.
(B) Reactors need to be dismantled.
(C) Reactors need to operate for 40 years.
(D) Reactors need to undertake safety improvements.
編譯：外語教學暨資源中心 編輯小組
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