ASN Report 2020

ASN ASSESSMENTS ASN ASSESSMENTS PER LICENSEE EDF The Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) in operation ASN considers that the year 2020 was on the whole satisfactory in terms of operating safety in the EDF NPPs. Operational rigorousness in particular made progress. The particular context created by the health crisismay have contributed to these good results. ASN does however observe that the step backwards seen in 2019 with regard to worker radiation protectionwas further accentuated in 2020. A strong reaction fromEDF is expected on this point. Managing the consequences of the health crisis ASN considers that EDF correctly managed the changes to its organisations made necessary by the health measures linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. The travel restrictions put in place by the Government in the spring of 2020 at f irst severely reduced EDF’s ability to carry out scheduled maintenance work during the reactor refuelling outages. Faced with this situation, EDF decided to extend the expected duration of all the scheduled outages and to postpone certain others. ASN made sure that the maintenance and outage operations were pushed back by EDF in compliance with the applicable safety rules. EDF also had to adopt measures to guarantee the safety of the installations, while complying with the health rules on the sites. Some of these changes in fact had safety benefits. This is particularly the case with the steps taken to limit contacts with the control operators, which created a calmer atmosphere in the control rooms. EDF keeps ASN regularly informed during the health crisis, which enabled ASN to maintain precise monitoring of the situation in each NPP. Operation ASN observes that the vast majority of NPPs made progress in 2020 with respect to the rigorousness of monitoring in the control room and control of the installations. In most cases, this progress was accompanied by a clear reduction in the number of unauthorised excursions from the operating range and the number of failures to comply with the operating control rules. The organisational changes and activity postponements resulting from the health crisis may have been a contributory factor to this improvement. In 2020, on the majority of NPPs, ASN did however observe an increase in the number of significant events. An analysis of their causes reveals that inappropriate documentation was used by the control team or that this documentation was incorrectly used. In 2020, ASN observed a good level of familiarity with the control procedures in an accident situation, but again found that certain actions cannot be performed within the required times, or even cannot be carried out at all owing to the configuration of the facilities. These cases were however fewer in number than in 2018 and 2019. The organisation put into place on the sites to manage skills, qualifications and training remained on the whole satisfactory in 2020. As in 2019, the ASN inspections focusing on the organisation and emergency resources conf irmed that the organisation, preparedness and management principles for emergency situations covered by an on-site emergency plan have been correctly assimilated. The analyses conducted by the sites further to signif icant events are generally appropriate and the identif ication of organisational causes is progressing. However, as in 2019, the analysis of the root causes fails to adequately call into question the organisation and still all too often leads to relatively unambitious corrective measures. ASN carries out its oversight role by using the regulatory framework and individual resolutions, inspections, and if necessary, enforcement measures and penalties, in a way that is complementary and tailored to each situation, to ensure optimal control of the risks nuclear activities represent for people and the environment. ASN reports on its duties and produces an assessment of the actions of each licensee, in each field of activity. 14 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020