Abstracts ASN Report 2019

ASN ASSESSMENTS PER LICENSEE AND BY AREA OF ACTIVITY …ȸƏȇȒ !ɵƬǼƺ ASN considers that the level of safety in the facilities operated by Orano Cycle remained at a generally satisfactory level in 2019, in a context where the group’s new organisation was being put in place. The facilities operated by Orano Cycle are located on the sites of La Hague, Tricastin and Marcoule. They present significant safety risks, but of different types, both chemical and radiological. The organisation of the Orano group is mainly decentralised, which leads to differences in practices between each site. The Orano group has put in place a central organisation, which has improved the quality of its periodic safety reviews, particularly through its ability to report on the conformity of ǣɎɀ ǔƏƬǣǼǣɎǣƺɀِ Áǝƺ ÁȸǣƬƏɀɎǣȇ ƏȇƳ nƏ ژ RƏǕɖƺ ɀǣɎƺɀً ɯǝǣƬǝ ǔƺƏɎɖȸƺ numerous Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs), have set up dedicated organisations that enable the periodic safety reviews of the various BNIs to be conducted continuously, which improves the rigour of the reviews. Orano must nevertheless continue these improvement initiatives, particularly with regard to civil engineering where it must redouble its efforts concerning its auxiliary facilities which are not assigned to production. Orano must improve the centralised tracking of the required actions identified during these reviews in order to take them through to completion. Orano Cycle has set up an organization to manage the ƺǔǔƺƬɎɀ Ȓǔ ƏǕƺǣȇǕ Ȓǔ ǣɎɀ nƏ ژ RƏǕɖƺ ǔƏƬǣǼǣɎǣƺɀِ Áǝƺ ȵȸǣȇƬǣȵǼƺ Ȓǔ the methodology deployed is acceptable. ASN observes that its deployment has improved compared with 2018. The actions to implement must be trackedmore formally. Orano’s organisation must be improved and be underpinned more by procedures than individual skills. Within the framework of the periodic safety reviews of the Tricastin and Marcoule facilities, ASN will check that Orano capitalises on the progress it has made in this area. Progress remains to be made in Orano’s monitoring of its service providers. ASN has observed several deviations in the execution of the periodic inspections and tests performed by outside contractors and in the way they take into account the safety requirements when carrying out new work projects. Orano Cycle has nevertheless made progress in the implementation of its periodic inspections and tests at nƏ ژ RƏǕɖƺِ Risk control Orano has improved its operational control teams’ compliance with the instructions concerning the containment of radioactive substances at La Hague. Compliance with radiation protection instructions in the Orano plants has also improved on the whole. Despite this, monitoring devices are not always available at the entrance to and exit from radiological areas. Post-Fukushima Orano Cycle has demonstrated determination in its ȅƏȇƏǕƺȅƺȇɎ Ȓǔ Ɏǝƺ ɀɎȸƺɀɀ ɎƺɀɎɀ ǔɖȸɎǝƺȸ ɎȒ Ɏǝƺ IɖǸɖɀǝǣȅƏ ژ z¨¨ accident. In 2019, Orano completed the construction of virtually all the complementary resources resulting from this exercise. These include, for example, newmeans designed to help cope with extreme situations in its facilities, particularly water make-up resources and new emergency response buildings that are robust to extreme hazards. Emergency management Orano has a robust emergency management organisation and provides its emergency response teams with appropriate training. The exercises conducted by Orano Cycle on the nƏ ژ RƏǕɖƺ ɀǣɎƺ ǣȇ א ׎׏ ח ɯƺȸƺ ɀɖǔǔǣƬǣƺȇɎǼɵ Ƴǣɮƺȸɀƺ ɎȒ ƺȇɀɖȸƺ adequate training of these teams. Legacy waste retrieval and packaging, decommissioning and waste management nƏȸǕƺ ȷɖƏȇɎǣɎǣƺɀ Ȓǔ ǼƺǕƏƬɵ ɯƏɀɎƺ ƏɎ Ɏǝƺ nƏ ژ RƏǕɖƺ ɀǣɎƺ Əȸƺ ȇȒɎ stored in accordance with current requirements and present major safety risks. The retrieval and packaging of this legacy waste govern decommissioning progress in the definitively shut down plants. ASN observes delays in Orano’s waste retrieval and packaging projects, which are often complex, leading Orano to announce the pushing back –sometimes by several decades– of deadlines to which it was committed. ASN considers that the control of the retrieval and packaging projects must be improved. Thus, in 2019, ASN initiated a procedure to monitor the management of these projects, assisted by the DGEC (General Directorate for Energy and Climate). This procedure has led ASN to ask Orano to make fundamental improvements to the management of these projects and the organisation underpinning their management, in order to better meet the deadlines to which Orano has committed itself and which are prescribed in ASN resolutions or decrees. This procedure will be continued ǣȇ אژ ׎ א ׎ِ Furthermore, shortcomings in waste management have given rise to several significant event notifications, particularly with regard to criticality prevention. Orano must improve its waste storage conditions and monitor more systematically the drums of waste produced. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2019 11