ASN Report 2020

Each of these the groups has defined “reference levels” for each technical topic, based on the most recent standards from the IAEA and on the strictest approaches adopted in the EU. The WENRA strategic committee met in July and examined the concrete implementation of the strategy defined by the WENRA for the period 2019-2023. In November 2020, the WENRA held its plenary meeting remotely, under the Chairmanship of Olivier Gupta, ASN Director General. This main results of this meeting were: ∙ the adoption of reference levels for research reactors (see box); ∙ the approval of the updated reference safety levels for nuclear power reactors; ∙ the creation of cross-cutting areas for work between the three working groups, to reinforce harmonisation when the reference levels for common topics are established. In addition, following the work carried out under the aegis of the RHWG, the WENRA sent the ENSREG a proposal in 2020 for “management of fire hazard” to be the subject of the next topical peer review, a periodic exercise stipulated in the 2014 Safety Directive (see above). The ENSREG approved this proposal in November 2020 and the WENRA will thus carry out work to draft the technical specifications in 2021. 2.8  The association of the Heads of European Radiological Protection Competent Authorities (HERCA) In the field of radiation protection, HERCA, founded in 2007, also at the instigation of ASN, is an informal association of the Heads of the European Radiological protection Competent Authorities. Its aim is to reinforce European cooperation in radiation protection and to harmonise national practices. HERCA now comprises 56 authorities from 32 European countries, including the 27 members of the EU, Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Serbia and Switzerland. ASN is responsible for the technical secretariat. Six expert groups are currently working on the following themes: ∙ practices and sources in the industrial and research fields; ∙ medical applications of ionising radiation; ∙ preparedness for and management of emergency situations; ∙ veterinary applications; ∙ natural radiation sources; ∙ education and training. HERCA is preparing a strategy with its main focus being reinforced cooperation between the radiation protection Competent Authorities. This first of all requires shared knowledge of the various national approaches, in order to be in a position to harmonise the regulatory approaches. In 2020, HERCA thus analysed the documents produced by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) concerning changes to radiation protection standards in order to identify areas warranting specific attention for changes to the regulations. In 2021, it will be organising exchanges with the ICRP on the subject. It also plans to organise several seminars, notably concerning the implementation of national radon risk management plans or the deployment of radiation protection experts and officers as required by the European Directive on Radiation Protection Basic Standards. 2.9  The European Commission’s assistance programmes Between 2007 and 2020, the actions of the EU with regard to assistance and cooperation for third-party countries in the field of nuclear safety continued under the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC). In 2020, via the INSC, ASN took part in a project. As of 1 January 2021, a new European Instrument for Assistance and Cooperation in Nuclear Safety (EINS), currently being approved by the European Parliament, will take the place of the previous instrument. For the period from 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2027, the budget envelope stands at €300 million. The goals of the new EINS instrument concern: ∙ the promotion and implementation of the strictest nuclear safety and radiation protection standards in nuclear facilities and for radiological practices in third-party countries; ∙ the implementation of frameworks and methods for application of effective checks on nuclear materials in third-party countries; ∙ the drafting and implementation of responsible strategies for the ultimate disposal of spent fuel, for waste management, for delicensing of facilities and for clean-out of former nuclear sites. These instruments are supplemented by other international technical assistance programmes that respond to resolutions taken by the G8 or by IAEA to improve nuclear safety in third- party countries and which are financed by contributions from donor States and from the EU. 3. The multilateral framework for ASN’s international relations At the multilateral level, cooperation takes place notably within the framework of the IAEA, a United Nations entity founded in 1957, and the NEA, created in 1958. These two agencies are the two most important intergovernmental organisations in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection. 3.1  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) The IAEA, a United Nations organisation based in Vienna, comprises 172 Member States. The IAEA’s activities are focused on two main areas: one of them concerns the control of nuclear materials and non-proliferation and the other concerns all activities related to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. In this latter field, two IAEA departments are tasked with developing and promoting nuclear energy on the one hand, and the safety and security of nuclear facilities and activities on the other. In continuation of the action plan approved by the IAEA Board of Governors in September 2011 and with the aim of reinforcing safety worldwide by learning the lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident, the IAEA is in particular focusing its work on the following fields: Safety Standards and peer review missions. Safety standards The IAEA Safety Standards describe the safety principles and practices that the vast majority of Member States use as the basis for their national regulations. This activity is supervised by the IAEA’s Commission on Safety Standards (CSS), set up in 1996. The CSS comprises 24 highest level representatives from the safety regulators, appointed for a term of 4 years. It coordinates the work of five committees tasked with drafting documents in their respective fields: NUSSC (Nuclear Safety Standards Committee) for the safety of reactors, RASSC (Radiation Safety Standards Committee) for radiation protection, TRANSSC (Transport Safety ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 199 06 – INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 06