ASN Report 2018

ÎLE-DE-FRANCE REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION two industrial firms: Technicatome, which designs nuclear reactors for naval propulsion, and CIS bio international, which produces radiopharmaceuticals for nuclear medicine. The industrial and research facilities  Osiris and ISIS reactors – CEA Centre The Osiris pool-type reactor has an authorised power of 70megawatts thermal (MWth). It was primarily intended for technological irradiation of structural materials and fuels for various power reactor technologies. Another of its functions was to produce radionuclides for medical uses. Its critical mock-up, the ISIS reactor with a power of 700 kWth, is essentially used for training purposes today. These two reactors, which constitute BNI 40, were authorised by a Decree dated 8 June 1965. Given the old design of this facility by comparison with the best available techniques for protection against external hazards and for containment of materials in the event of an accident, the Osiris reactor was shut down at the end of 2015. CEA intends to continue with operation of the ISIS reactor until March 2019. In October 2018, the CEA submitted its decommissioning file for complete installation – the Osiris reactor and the ISIS reactor. Since the Osiris reactor was shut down, the operations to remove the radioactive substances and hazardous materials and the decommissioning preparation operations are under way, with an organisation that is adapted to this new reactor status. Spent fuel removals continued in 2018, and twomajor decommissioning preparation operations were authorised by ASN resolutions. Improvements in the fire protection of the installation are moreover currently being implemented. The inspections carried out by ASN in 2018 found the management of radioactive sources and the monitoring of outside contractors to be satisfactory. Management of the decommissioning preparation operations was also found to be satisfactory, but schedule slippages were observed. Alongside this, the deadlines for updating the baseline requirements must be better respected so that the rules applicable to the facility reflect its actual condition. Orphée reactor – CEA Centre The Orphée reactor (BNI 101), a neutron source reactor, is a pool-type research reactor with a licensed power of 14 MWth. The highly compact core is located in a tank of heavy water acting as moderator. Creation of the reactor was authorised by a Decree of 8 March 1978 and its first divergence took place in 1980. It is equipped with nine horizontal channels tangential to the core, allowing the use of 19 neutron beams. These beams are used for conducting experiments in areas such as physics, biology and physical chemistry. The reactor also has ten vertical channels allowing the introduction of samples to irradiate for the manufacture of radionuclides or the production of special materials. The neutron radiography facility is intended for the performance of non-destructive test on certain components. The CEA has scheduled shutdown of the Orphée reactor for the end of 2019. The decommissioning file, expected before the end of 2019, shall be examined by ASN. ASN considers that the level of safety of the Orphée reactor is on the whole satisfactory. The licensee’s organisation in other respects is appropriate. The commitments made by the licensee are correctly implemented, particularly those further to the last periodic safety review. The rigour of operation of the cooling towers must nevertheless be improved. Similarly, ASN has observed a number of deviations in radiation protection, particularly concerning the placarding of radiological zoning and contamination control measures. Spent Fuel Testing Laboratory (LECI) – CEA Centre The LECI was built and commissioned in November 1959. The CEA declared it as a basic nuclear installation on 8 January 1968. An extension was authorised in 2000. The LECI (BNI 50) is an expert assessment aid for the nuclear licensees. Its role is to study the properties of materials used in the nuclear sector, whether irradiated or not. This facility must meet the same safety requirements as the fuel cycle nuclear installations, but the safety approach is proportional to the risks and drawbacks it presents. Further to the last periodic safety review, ASN issued a resolution of 30 November 2016 (amended on 26 June 2017) regulating the continued operation of the facility through technical prescriptions relating in particular to the improvement plan that CEA had undertaken to implement. Some of CEA’s commitments have not been fulfilled within the deadlines. ASN shall be particularly attentive to compliance with the assigned deadlines for the reinforcement work to ensure the earthquake resistance of the building 625 (end of 1st quarter 2021). The inspections carried out in 2018 revealed operation of the facility to be satisfactory. More specifically, radiation protection and criticality were found to be well managed. Nevertheless, ASN notes an increase in the number of incident notifications in 2018 and shall be attentive to the lessons learned from them. ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2018  57