ASN Report 2018

ASN shall ensure that the licensee remains compliant with its operating baseline requirements until the decree authorising major decommissioning operations is issued. ASN recommends that the licensee inform the Local Information Committee (CLI) of the planned work in the decommissioning preparation phase, regularly inform the CLI of the progress of operations and present the results once they are completed. As part of its oversight duties, ASN monitors the implementation of the decommissioning operations as directed by the decommissioning decree. The Environment Code requires – as is the case for all other basic nuclear installations – that the safety of a facility undergoing decommissioning be reviewed periodically and at least every 10 years. ASN’s objective with these safety reviews is to ascertain that the installation complies with the provisions of its decommissioning decree and the associated safety and radiation protection requirements through to its delicensing by applying the principles of defence in depth specific to nuclear safety. On completion of decommissioning, a nuclear facility can be delicensed by an ASN resolution approved by the Minister responsible for Nuclear Safety. It is then removed from the list of BNIs and is no longer subject to the BNI regulatory framework. As part of its delicencing application, the licensee must provide a file containing a description of the state of the site after decommissioning (analysis of the state of the soils, remaining buildings or facilities, etc.) and demonstrating that the planned final state has been reached. Depending on the final state reached, ASN may require the implementation of active institutional controls as a condition of delicensing. These may set a number of restrictions on the use of the site and buildings (use limited to industrial applications for example) or precautionary measures (radiological measurements to be taken in the event of excavation, etc.). 1.4  ̶  The financing of decommissioning and radioactive waste management Articles L. 594-1 to L. 594-14 of the Environment Code define the system for ring-fencing funds to cover the costs of decommissioning nuclear facilities and managing the spent fuel and radioactive waste. This system is clarified by Decree 2007-243 of 23 February 2007 amended relative to securing the funding of the nuclear costs and by the Order of 21 March 2007 relative to securing the funding of nuclear costs. It aims to secure the funding for nuclear costs in compliance with the “polluter-pays” principle. It is therefore up to the nuclear licensees to take charge of this financing by setting up a dedicated portfolio of assets capable of covering the expected costs. They are obliged to submit triennial reports on these costs and annual update notices to the Government. Provisioning is ensured under direct control of the State, which analyses the situation of the each licensee and can prescribe the necessary measures should it be found to be insufficient or inappropriate. Whatever the case may be, the nuclear licensees remain responsible for the satisfactory financing of their long- term costs. These costs are divided into five categories: ∙ ∙ decommissioning costs, excluding long-term management of radioactive waste packages; ∙ ∙ spent fuel management costs, excluding long-term management of radioactive waste packages; ∙ ∙ cost of retrieving and packaging legacy waste, excluding long- term management of radioactive waste packages; ∙ ∙ costs of long-term management of radioactive waste packages; ∙ ∙ cost of surveillance following closure of the disposal facilities. The costs involved must be assessed using a method based on 1) an analysis of the options that could be reasonably envisaged for the operation, 2) a conservative choice of reference strategy, 3) consideration of residual technical uncertainties and performance contingencies, and 4) consideration of operating experience feedback. An agreement signed between ASN and the General Directorate for Energy and Climate (DGEC) whereby ASN monitors the long-term costs, defines: ∙ ∙ the conditions in which ASN produces the opinions it is required to issue pursuant to Article 12 of the above- mentioned Decree of 23 February 2007, on the consistency of the strategies for decommissioning and management of spent fuels and radioactive waste; ∙ ∙ the conditions in which the DGEC can call on ASN expertise pursuant to Article 15 of the same Decree. 2 —  Situation of nuclear facilities undergoing decommissioning - specific challenges In 2018, 36 nuclear facilities in France are definitively shut down or undergoing decommissioning. It is planned to shut down some ten more facilities in the coming years (see map below). These facilities are varied (nuclear power reactors, research reactors, fuel cycle facilities, support facilities, etc.) and the decommissioning challenges can differ greatly from one facility to the next. These challenges are, however, all linked to the large quantity of waste to manage during decommissioning and the risks for safety and radiation protection are all the higher if the facilities contain legacy waste; this is the case with the Orano Cycle former spent fuel reprocessing plants or the CEA’s old storage facilities. 2.1  ̶  Nuclear power reactors 2.1.1  –  Pressurised Water nuclear power Reactors (PWR) The first Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) undergoing decommissioning in France is the Chooz A reactor (BNI 163). This is a small model compared with the 58 nuclear power reactors in operation. Decommissioning of Chooz A has been authorised by Decree since 2007 and presents some specific technical difficulties due to its construction inside a cavern. This makes some operations more complex, such as the removal of large components like the steam generators. Decommissioning of the Chooz A reactor vessel and its internal components is in progress and should continue in the time frames specified in the Decree. PWR decommissioning benefits from experience feedback from numerous projects across the world and the design of these ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2018  339 13 – DECOMMISSIONING OF BASIC NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS 13