Abstracts ASN Report 2019

³ XzÁ ٳ n È«0zÁ (ٳ 0³ ٳ 0 Èæ ³XÁ0 The Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux site, situated on the banks of the river Loire in the municipality of Saint-Laurent-Nouan in the Loir-et-Cher département , comprises various nuclear installations, some of them in operation and others undergoing decommissioning. The Saint-Laurent- des-Eaux NPP comprises two operating reactors, B1 and B2, which were commissioned in 1980 and 1981 and constitute zX ژ ׏׎׎ِ Áǝƺ ɀǣɎƺ ƏǼɀȒ ǔƺƏɎɖȸƺɀ ɎɯȒ ȒǼƳ J!«ɀً ׏ ƏȇƳ א ً currently in the decommissioning phase, and two silos for storing the graphite sleeves from the operation of reactors A1 and A2. ³ƏǣȇɎ ٮ nƏɖȸƺȇɎ ٮ Ƴƺɀ ٮ 0Əɖɴ ȇɖƬǼƺƏȸ ȵȒɯƺȸ ȵǼƏȇɎ Reactors B1 and B2 in operation ASN considers that the performance of the Saint-Laurent- des-Eaux NPP is in line with the general assessment of the EDF plants in the areas of environment and safety, but underlines a drop in the rigour of operational control of the facilities. The radiation protection performance, however, is below the national average. With regard to nuclear safety, ASN considers that the NPP has not improved its performance with respect to 2018 despite putting in place a “safety rigour plan”. ASN nevertheless underlines the good overall upkeep of the worksites and satisfactory condition of the inspected equipment. This being said, shortcomings in operating rigour and operational control of the facilities were again observed in 2019. Numerous events highlight deficiencies in the management of changes of reactor state and in the application of the general operating rules. Shortcomings have been observed in the NPPs organisation for detecting deviations duringmaintenance work on the primary and secondary systems. Determined action regarding compliance with the facility operational control rules is expected of the licensee in 2020. ASN does however note that performance of the periodic tests is well managed. Broadly speaking, the radiation protection performance of the Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux NPP dropped in 2019. Management of the storage areas must be improved and the containment rules must bemore clearly defined andmore closely monitored by EDF. Lastly, although its inspections identified several good practices, ASN considers that the site must consolidate its process for optimising doses prior to operations with radiation exposure risks. The NPPs organisation to meet the environmental regulatory requirements is considered satisfactory. The various facilities inspected are well kept. An exercise simulating a hazardous substance discharge showed that the site was well organised, had a sound knowledge of the response actions and implemented them calmly. The management of retention structures showed some weaknesses however, with noncompliant equipment storage areas and undetected run-offs. With regard to labour inspection, an in-depth inspection was conducted on the subject of fire, personnel evacuation and sheltering in the event of an incident or accident. Further to the labour inspection’s observations, improvement actions are expected on the part of the licensee regarding the use and maintenance of the evacuation systems and the site’s response organisation. Labour inspection will assess the measures taken in subsequent inspections. Particular attention must be focused on the audibility of the sirens inside the buildings. Reactors A1 and A2 undergoing decommissioning The former Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux NPP constitutes Ə zX ژ ƬȒȅȵ ȸ ǣ ɀ ǣ ȇǕ ɎɯȒ ٹ ǣ ȇ ɎƺǕ ȸƏ ɎƺƳ ٺ J!«ɀ ً Ɏ ǝƺ Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux reactors A1 and A2. These first- generation reactors used natural uranium as the fuel, graphite as themoderator and were cooled by gas. Their final shutdownwas declared in 1990 and 1992 respectively. Complete decommissioning of the installation was authorised by the Decree of 18 May 2010. InMarch 2016, EDF announced a complete change of decom- missioning strategy for its definitively shut down reactors (see chapter 13). ASN, which is examining the periodic safety review concluding report for Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux A submitted at the end of 2017, carried out a specific inspection in 2019. ASN noted that the organisation put in place by EDF for this safety review is satisfactory, but nevertheless observed that the justification for certain conformity analyses could be improved. Work on the decommissioning sites continued in 2019, but several of them fell behind schedule due to organisational and technical difficulties, or issues related to the presence of asbestos. EDF also continued its efforts to remove the liquid and solid waste. ASN considers that the level of safety of the Saint-Laurent- des-Eaux A reactors is satisfactory. ASN’s inspections found that the overall upkeep of the premises and worksites was good. In addition, the organisation and tools in place for monitoring deviations and outside contractors are satisfactory. However Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux A must improve its organisation for the management of emergency situations in order to better integrate the particularities of installations undergoing decommissioning. ASNwill also be attentive to themanagement of liquidwaste, andmore specifically to the solutions proposed by EDF further to the loss-of-containment event concerning two drums on a nuclear waste storage area in summer 2019. 50 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2019 REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION !0zÁ«0 ٳ à n (0 n…X«0