ASN Report 2020

1. Operated by French radioactive waste management agency ( Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs – Andra), EDF, Ganil, Ionisos and Steris. Examination of these evaluations led ASN, as of 2012, to set binding requirements for the licensees of the nuclear facilities with the highest potential safety implications (CEA, EDF, Orano) in order to: •  define a “hardened safety core” of material and organisa­ tional measures aimed at preventing a severe accident or limiting its spread, mitigating large-scale radioactive releases and enabling the licensee to perform its extreme crisis management duties; •  implement a range of corrective actions or improvements (notably additional water make-up and electricity supply means, additional instrumentation, improved management of emergency situations, etc.) and, for EDF, a Nuclear Rapid Intervention Force ( Force d’Action Rapide Nucléaire –FARN), enabling outside resources to be brought to a damaged NPP; •  study additional modifications and resources to deal with extreme situations ( see chapters 10, 11, 12 and 13 ). ASN then made additional demands to clarify certain provi­ sions regarding the “hardened safety core”. ASN’s demands are part of a continuous process to improve safety and aim to be able to cope with situations far beyond those considered in the safety studies . This “defence in depth” approach stands out on the international stage in the scope and scale of the resulting modifications. For 22 lower priority facilities operated by CEA, EDF, CIS bio international and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the evaluations were submitted in September 2012 and have been examined. Finally, for the thirty or so facilities with lesser potential safety implications (1) , a schedule for submission of the stress test reports during the periodic safety reviews was deployed until 2020. Large-scale works, phased over a period of time The improvement approach was regulated by binding ASN requirements and phased over a period of time owing to its scope and scale: •  first of all, rapid reinforcement using mobile resources (pumps, electricity generating sets, means of communication); •  then, over the past ten years, the gradual deployment of additional mobile or fixed resources to ensure water make-up, electrical power supplies and enable manage­ ment of a crisis; •  finally, for the Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs) on which the potential safety implications so warrant, the gradual installation of a “hardened safety core” which is an addi- tional line of defence designed to prevent and mitigate large-scale releases in an extreme situation, as well as last- ing effects in the environment. Improvements already effective today •  Deployment of mobile and then, gradually, fixed resources, to guarantee resilient management of a situation in which electrical power or cooling systems are lost. •  Reinforced emergency organisation at the licensees; reinforcement of the existing emergency centres or the creation of bunkerised emergency centres. •  Reduction in the quantities of radioactive substances in a number of laboratories and former plants: rationalisation of storage of waste and materials, shutdown of old facilities, such as Comurhex. •  Changes in French doctrine for managing the consequences of a nuclear accident, more particularly by simplifying the response through actions that are more appropriate and more easily understood by the population. Tomorrow , even more robust installations and organisations •  Within the framework of the periodic safety reviews, continue to deploy the “hardened safety core” in the NPPs. •  Complete the construction of new bunkerised emergency rooms for those installations not as yet equipped (EDF, CEA). •  Within the framework of the Steering Committee for management of the post-accident phase (Codirpa) continue to work on the precautionary culture and the population protection measures in the event of an accident. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 27 NOTABLE EVENTS 2020