I’m going to take a shot at this, having studied nuclear reactors as a matter of interest, not as part of my engineering career. Some of this everyone knows, I’m trying to put it together with what is reported to make sense, which none of the reports have made sense.
The reactor is producing more radioactive gas than it should. Nowhere is the question why addressed and the reason why the French have gone to the Americans is they want to use American technology to resolve the issue, but that technology requires an export license. In other words, we loaned/gave/sold technology to the French with the understanding that they would not loan/give/or sell that technology to others without an export permit. This is almost always because that technology either enables weapon production or is a dual use technology that has civilian and military applications. My guess is this is a coating material which also can be used in nuclear weapons to change the explosion to something different. Our latest weapons can be dialed in for a low yield, for use on battlefields or near places where we don’t want collateral damage, or for very high yields, when nothing less than ten megatons will do. I am guessing that is the issue. (A wild, but informed opinion.)
The issue is not the radioactive gas. That’s the result. The rods are lowered into the pile to slow down the reaction. The lower the rods...further into the pile...they go, the less heat, the less gas, but also less power output. The Chinese are still operating the reactor and have simply raised the amount of radioactive gas that’s acceptable. This may be fine, as the current level may be California safe...as opposed to realistically safe. The question is, why is there more than the expected amount of gas. My guess is the rods are deteriorating. They probably need to be replaced which, I’m guessing would mean shutting down the reactor. I suspect that if you have a relatively hot core, as it would be if producing a lot of steam/power, then removing a rod to replace it may cause a local meltdown. Which means you can’t reinsert the rod.
That means the core could be in danger of a spontaneous meltdown, resulting in a significant steam blowout along with a Chernobyl style release of radioactive material. (One hundred and twenty million people live locally to the reactor.)
nowhere is it clear exactly what is causing the gas or what technology the French want to supply. Obviously, the old rods work fine, but wear out. So, shut the reactor down, then put in rods made like the old ones and then bring it back up. The issue is probably that the officials in charge do not want the political blowback this would cause, so they want better American rods...and they can use that technology to improve their bombs. Anyone want to bet the Biden administration give is?
Very informative, thanks!
It all sounds like a muted cry for help that obviously can’t be made in a fully public way.