ASN Report 2018

CENTRE-VAL DE LOIRE REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION Nuclear fuel cycle installations  Inter-Regional fresh fuel Warehouse Commissioned in 1978, the Chinon Inter-Regional Warehouse (MIR) is a facility for storing fresh fuel assemblies pending their utilisation in the EDF reactors. It constitutes BNI 99, and along with the Bugey MIR, it contributes to themanagement of flows of fuel assembly supplies for the reactors. After making several additional information requests between 2015 and 2017, ASN notified EDF in 2018 of the admissibility of the periodic safety review report submitted in 2015 and will continue its examination in 2019. The facility was emptied of all the fuel assemblies in 2018 to allow the replacement of the handling crane and the «removal» of the levelling slab. With a view to performance of this work, ASN authorised the downgrading of areas of potential nuclear waste production on the facility into conventional waste areas, and the temporary modification of the general operating rules. Research facilities undergoing decommissioning  Irradiated Materials Facility The Irradiated Material Facility (AMI), which was declared and commissioned in 1964, is situated on the Chinon nuclear site and operated by EDF. This facility (BNI 94) has stopped operating and is waiting to undergo decommissioning. It was intended essentially for performing examinations and expert assessments on activated or contaminatedmaterials from pressurised water reactors. The analysis and expert assessment activities were entirely transferred in 2015 to a new facility on the site, the Lidec (Ceidre integrated laboratory). With decommissioning of the facility in view, the activities in the AMI are now essentially monitoring and decommissioning preparation operations. The year 2018 was chiefly taken by the continuation of the treatment and removal of legacy waste and various unused equipment items, along with standard operating and monitoring operations and preparation for the future decommissioning activities. The decommissioning file underwent a public inquiry and consultations in 2017. Based on this, ASN continued its examination and drew up a draft decommissioning decree. ASN considers that the management of waste treatment operations and the monitoring of outside contractors are satisfactory. In a context where the facility’s activities involve numerous specific work projects, ASN will be attentive to the management of the facility developments and the announced schedules. ASN inspection in the AMI irradiated materials facility - June 2018 44  ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2018