Areva shares fall over nuclear safety concerns

PARIS, Nov 3 - Shares in French state nuclear reactor builder Areva fell after France, Britain and Finland ordered it to modify next-generation power plants on which it has staked future export growth.

In a rare joint statement, safety bodies from all three nations said on Monday that control and safety systems in the European pressurised reactors should be amended to avoid both failing at the same time.

Non-voting shares in Areva fell over 5 percent to 344 euros.

The world's largest nuclear plant constructor is building two EPR reactors in Finland and in France and is at the centre of a French export drive, championed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, to tap into a potential resurgence of nuclear power.

Areva has also started building two EPRs in China's Guangdong province and in January Sarkozy gave approval for the construction of a second EPR plant in France.

Areva said on Monday it was in talks to modify the design of the EPR plants before the end of the year and insisted the safety of the EPR plants was not in question.

However the intervention from regulators triggered fresh calls from environmental groups on Tuesday for a halt in the production of new nuclear reactors.

CAP21, a political party founded by Corrine Lepage, a former environment minister, said more investment should be made in renewable energy.

France is vying with U.S. competitors for a possible surge in nuclear power programmes across the world driven by international attention to emissions and depleting oil reserves.

Britain is mulling whether to relaunch its nuclear energy programme with modern plants.

The three nuclear safety bodies cited concerns about the "adequacy of the safety systems" and their independence from control systems. Keeping these areas independent helps prevent both failing together, the joint statement said.

Electricte de France, which operates France's extensive fleet of nuclear plants, said on Tuesday it had been asked to conduct a closer study of secondary systems at its Flamanville EPR reactor and would respond by end-year.