STORY:
French Nuclear Plants In Y2K Jeopardy

According to a Reuters story, safety at France's network of nuclear power stations could be jeopardized by the millennium computer bug. The French Institute of Nuclear Safety (IPSN) said in a report that nuclear power stations were threatened not just by possible failures from their own internal computer systems, but also by the prospect of problems with the general French electricity grid.

The article says research showed that between 45 and 80 percent of internal systems "could be sensitive" to the arrival of 2000. "Malfunctions of certain computer and automated systems at the power stations could weaken safety levels," the IPSN said, adding that more than 40 percent of the systems needed to be operational to guarantee short-term safety at the plants.

France relies more than any other nation on nuclear power and also supplies many of its neighbors with electricity.

"Such a general breakdown would not directly mean risk of a nuclear accident, but it would lead Electricite de France either to make the reactors function or shut down in unusual conditions, which could eventually cause safety problems," the IPSN said.

Source: Reuters

DATE: 5/04/99

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