ASN Report 2020

4 th periodic safety review process ASN resolution and requirements AUTORITÉ DE SÛRETÉ NUCLÉAIRE #02 • FEBRUARY 2021 NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS GOING BEYOND 40 YEARS What are the conditions for the continued operation of EDF’s 900MWe reactors? Involvement of the various audiences in the resolution LES CAHIERS DE L’ASN #02 Read online Le cahier de l’ASN #02 on french- nuclear-safety.fr ASN resolution on the continued operation of the reactor concerned Complementary safety improvements required by ASN Year N+2 Year N+3 Year N+4 Year N+5 Year N-1 Public inquiry Year N+1 Submission of the periodic safety review concluding report to ASN by EDF Year N 10-yearly outage ASN underlines the ambitious objectives of the 4th periodic safety review of the 900MWe reactors and the substantial work carried out by EDF during the generic phase ASN asked EDF to report annually on the actions imple- mented to meet the requirements and their deadlines, and also on the industrial capacity of both itself and its suppliers to complete the modifications to the facilities on schedule. ASN asks that this information be made public. ASN considers that the measures planned by EDF, supple- mented by the replies to the requirements formulated by ASN, will make it possible to achieve the periodic safety review objectives and bring the level of safety of the 900 MWe reactors close to that of the most recent reactors (third generation), in particular: ∙ by checking, across a broad perimeter, the conformity of the reactors with the safety rules that apply to them; ∙ by improving the way potential hazards (earthquake, flood- ing, explosion, fire, etc.) are taken into account. The reac- tors will also be able to cope with more severe hazards than those hitherto considered; ∙ by reducing the risk of accident with core melt and mit- igating any consequences of this type of accident. These provisions will thus lead to a significant reduction in environmental releases during this type of accident; ∙ by limiting the radiological consequences of the accidents studied in the safety analysis report. This will significantly reduce the occurrence of situations that involve implement- ing population protection measures (sheltering, evacuation, taking iodine tablets); ∙ by improving the provisions for managing accident situa- tions affecting spent fuel pools. The public was involved throughout the generic phase of this review. More specifically, the measures set out by EDF underwent consultation from September 2018 to March 2019, under the aegis of the High Committee for Transparency and Information on Nuclear Safety. ASN also posted its draft resolution on its website for public consultation between 3 December 2020 and 22 January 2021. Subsequent to this consultation, it modified or clarified certain provisions of its resolution. This is the case, for example, with certain studies required by ASN, for which the completion deadlines have been brought forward. ASN has also pushed back some dead- lines on account of specific industrial and operating con- straints when this was acceptable from the safety standpoint. ASN also explained its position regarding the deployment schedule for the modifications resulting from the periodic safety review and its requirements with regard to deviations detected during the 10-yearly outage. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 25 NOTABLE EVENTS 2020