Abstracts ASN Report 2019

NOTABLE EVENTS 2019 G iven the number and complexity of the operations to be carried out for all the nuclear facilities to be decommissioned, CEA defined priorities, based primarily on an analysis of the potential hazards, in order to mitigate the risks presented by these facilities. The highest priority operations concern some individual facilities in the Marcoule Defence Basic Nuclear Installation (DBNI), as well as the Basic Nuclear Installations (BNI) in Saclay (BNI 72) and Cadarache (BNI 56). An accident in one of these facilities could lead to unacceptable nuclear safety and radiation protection consequences. In their opinion of 27 May 2019, ASN and the Defence Nuclear Safety Authority (ASND) confirmed the general adequacy, with constant resource levels, of the prioritisation defined by CEA, given the resources allocated by the State and the significant number of nuclear facilities being decom- missioned, entailing considerable investment (creation or preliminary renovation of means for the recovery, packaging and storage of radioactive materials and waste, as well as the corresponding transportation), so that the legacy waste could be correctly managed. However, even if there are no unexpected events or delays in the projects considered by CEA to have priority, the mitigation of the risks presented by these ageing facilities will not be effective before ten or so years at best. ASN and ASND have concerns in particular about the planned human and financial resources for dealing with all of the most important situations entailing safety implications or environmental hazards over the coming ׏׎ ژ ɵƺƏȸɀِ ɀȵƺƬǣǔǣƬ ǣȇɮƺɀɎȅƺȇɎ ƺǔǔȒȸɎً Əɀ ɯƺǼǼ Əɀ Ɏǝƺ ƬȸƺƏɎǣȒȇ of engineering units and the reinforcement of the safety teams dedicated to these projects would seem to be necessary. Xǔ Ɏǝƺɀƺ ȵȸȒǴƺƬɎɀ Əȸƺ ɎȒ ȵȸȒǕȸƺɀɀً Ɏǝƺɵ ɯǣǼǼ ȸƺȷɖǣȸƺ Əȇ ǣȇƬȸƺƏɀƺ ǣȇ !0 ټ ɀ ȒɮƺȸɀǣǕǝɎ ƏȇƳ ƬȒȒȸƳǣȇƏɎǣȒȇ ƬƏȵƏƬǣɎɵ ƏǼǼǣƺƳ ɯǣɎǝ ȸǣǕȒȸȒɖɀ ƏȇƳ ɎȸƏȇɀȵƏȸƺȇɎ ³ɎƏɎƺ ȅȒȇǣɎȒȸǣȇǕ Ȓǔ !0 ټ ɀ ƏƬɎǣȒȇɀً ǣȇ Ɏƺȸȅɀ Ȓǔ ƬȒɀɎً Ɏǣȅƺ ƏȇƳ ƺǔǔƺƬɎǣɮƺȇƺɀɀِ With regard to the facilities of lower priority, and owing to the limits of its human and financial resources, CEA is looking at a “two-stage” decommissioning of each facility. First of all, most of the hazard potential will be removed. Secondly, following a potentially lengthy period of interruption, the decommissioning operations will be completed on the facilities. The resulting surveillance, upkeep and operations needed to maintain a sufficient level of safety in these facilities, once the hazard potential has been removed, possibly for decades up until delicensing, will significantly increase the final cost of the decommissioning of all the CEA facilities. xȒȸƺȒɮƺȸً Ɏǝƺ ȵȸǣȒȸǣɎɵ ƳƺƬȒȅȅǣɀɀǣȒȇǣȇǕ Ȓǔ ǔƏƬǣǼǣɎǣƺɀ ɯǣɎǝ ɀǣǕȇǣǔǣƬƏȇɎ ɀƏǔƺɎɵ ǣȅȵǼǣƬƏɎǣȒȇɀ ɯǣǼǼً ǔȒȸ ɎǝȒɀƺ ǔƏƬǣǼǣɎǣƺɀ ǔȒȸ ɯǝǣƬǝ ƳƺƬȒȅȅǣɀɀǣȒȇǣȇǕ ǣɀ ȵȒɀɎȵȒȇƺƳً ǼƺƏƳ ɎȒ Ɏǝƺ ȅȒƳǣǔǣƬƏɎǣȒȇ Ȓǔ Ɏǝƺ ȸƺǕɖǼƏɎȒȸɵ ȸƺȷɖǣȸƺȅƺȇɎɀ ƏǼȸƺƏƳɵ ǣɀɀɖƺƳِ The public must be regularly informed of the progress of the programme as a whole. h…XzÁ ¨…³XÁX…z…I ³z z( ³z( ڙ !0 ƳƺƬȒȅȅǣɀɀǣȒȇǣȇǕ ƏȇƳ ȅƏɎƺȸǣƏǼɀ ƏȇƳ ɯƏɀɎƺ ȅƏȇƏǕƺȅƺȇɎ ɀɎȸƏɎƺǕɵ In France, nearly 40 CEA civil and defence nuclear facilities have been finally shut down or are being decommissioned. The ageing design of these facilities did not take account of decommissioning or radioactive waste management in accordance with current safety requirements. IN BRIEF CEA operated these facilities, some of them since the 1950s, in a context where “ pressing national and international needs forced it to take the necessary steps to enable France to maintain its position ǣȇ ڳ Ɏǝƺ ǔǣƺǼƳ Ȓǔ ƏɎȒȅǣƬ ƺȇƺȸǕɵ ȸƺɀƺƏȸƬǝ٫ ” ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2019 23