Nuclear safety authorities in three countries have raised questions over the design of control and command systems in Areva’s new generation EPR reactor, the latest in a series of blows to hit the flagship of France’s international nuclear ambitions.

Authorities in France, Finland and the UK have asked for changes to ensure greater independence of the reactor’s safety systems from control operations. “The EPR design, as originally proposed by the licensees and the manufacturer, Areva, doesn’t comply with the independence principle, as there is a very high degree of complex interconnectivity between the control and safety systems,” they said in a statement.