News releases

In late 2023 and early 2024, ASN continued its monitoring of the construction of the Flamanville EPR reactor. It notably checked: the preparation for and performance of hot testing at the end of 2023, to verify the ability of the systems to perform their safety functions during hot operation of the reactor, prior to commissioning, preparedness of the teams who will be operating the reactor, prior to commissioning, the conformity of the nuclear pressure equipment, which notably includes completion of the quality review, the processing of the irregularities affecting certain equipment, and equipment conservation, completion of the installation before commissioning, whether in terms of works, processing of anomalies and start-up tests, with detailed monitoring of the progress of these actions, up until reactor commissioning, the start-up operations following commissioning, notably loading of fuel into the reactor vessel and analysis of the experience feedback from the significant events reported.

The radiotherapy accident, reported to the ASN in June 2024 and classified at level 4 on the ASN-SFRO scale, related to the failure to take account of a previous radiotherapy treatment, is a reminder of the high stakes involved in radiation protection in this field.

External radiotherapy is a treatment technique that uses ionising radiation generated by a particle accelerator to destroy cancer cells. The ionising radiation is administered to the area to be treated in one or more fractions, delivered over one or more days.

On 13 June 2024, the licensee of the Tricastin NPP notified ASN of a significant radiation protection event concerning the potential exceeding of a statutory annual individual dose limit for a contractor from an external company.

The 7th Conference of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) was held in Brussels on 24 and 25 June. With around thirty speakers, the conference was attended by over 200 participants

The 50th meeting of the Franco-German Commission was held on 19 and 20 June in Berlin and Wannsee, respectively, under the chairmanship of Gerrit Niehaus, Director General for Nuclear Safety and Radiological Protection of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUV), and Géraldine Pina, ASN Commissioner.

On January 16, 2023, Andra submitted a license application to build a deep geological repository named Cigéo to the French Ministry for Energy Transition. In March 2023, this Ministry requested the ASN to lead the technical review of Andra’s application. In June 2023, the ASN deemed the application admissible and referred the technical part of the application to the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) for a comprehensive review. The ASN also planned to call on its Advisory Committee on Waste (GPD) as part of this review.

On May 16, ASN presented its Report on the State of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection in France in 2023 to the parliamentarians of the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technical Choices (OPECST). On this occasion, ASN presented the subjects on which it was being particularly vigilant with regard to the new nuclear ambitions.

In a resolution of 7 May 2024, ASN authorised commissioning of the Flamanville EPR reactor. This authorisation allows EDF to load nuclear fuel into the reactor and carry out start-up tests, followed by operation of the reactor.

From April 2 to 4, 2024, ASN received a delegation from the Finnish Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), chaired by its Director General Petteri Tiippana.

From 27 March to 17 April 2024, ASN consults the public concerning its draft resolution authorising commissioning of the Flamanville EPR reactor.

An ASN delegation, led by its Chairman Bernard Doroszczuk, travelled to Mumbai on 5 March 2024 to meet its Indian counterpart, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and its Chairman Shri Dinesh Kumar Shukla. This meeting was organised as part of the cooperation agreement that has linked the two safety regulators for nearly 25 years now.

On 30 January, the ASN Commission and Director General’s office presented their New Year’s greetings to the press. On this occasion, ASN recalled that against the backdrop of a significant increase in workload and in the light of the situation observed in recent years, combatting falsification and counterfeiting at all levels along the subcontracting chain must remain a major point for particular attention across the sector.

On 30 January, the ASN Commission and Director General’s office presented their New Year’s greetings to the press.

Mr. Olivier Dubois has been appointed to the ASN Commission for 6 years by a decree of the French President dated 29 January 2024. In this capacity, he replaces Ms. Laure Tourjansky. Pursuant to Article L. 592-2 of the Environment Code, he was nominated by the President of the Senate.