ASN Report 2020

protection optimisation process during the reactor outages is satisfactory. Weaknesses are nevertheless observed in the radiological cleanliness of the facilities. ASN considers that the environmental protection performance of the NPP is in line with its general assessment of the EDF plants. Waste management is considered satisfactory on the whole. The management of liquid containment, especially the prevention of the risks of leakage of buried structures (pipes and conduits) carrying radioactive and chemical fluids, has improved. However, the control of conformity of the ultimate structures contributing to environmental protection must be improved and deviations affecting themmust be addressed with the same rigour as those relating to nuclear safety. Lastly, improvements are required in the management of emergency situations relating to the environment. With regard to occupational health and safety, ASN’s inspections also conf irmed EDF’s compliance with its commitments. ASN notes the signif icant work undertaken by the NPP to remedy the deviations concerning safety and the inspection of scaffolding. With regard to worker protection in response to the health crisis, ASN noted that as of March 2020 the site had put in place appropriate protection measures, which evolved as knowledge progressed. Improvements are expected of EDF in the demonstration of conformity of the ventilation of premises where there is a specific pollution risk and facilities situated in identified explosion-risk areas. Reactor 1 undergoing decommissioning Bugey 1 is a graphite-moderated GCR. This f irst-generation reactor functioned with natural uranium as the fuel, graphite as the moderator and it was cooled by gas. The Bugey 1 reactor is an “integrated” GCR, whose heat exchangers are situated inside the reactor vessel beneath the reactor core. In March 2016, in view of the technical difficulties encountered, EDF announced a complete change of decommissioning strategy for its def initively shut down reactors. In this new strategy, the planned decommissioning scenario for all the reactor pressure vessels involves decommissioning “in air” rather than “under water” as initially envisaged. Through ASN Chairman’s resolution CODEP-CLG-2020-021253 of 3 March 2020, in the context of EDF’s change of decommission­ ing strategy, ASN instructed EDF to complete, by 2024 at the latest, decommissioning of the buildings and equipment which are not necessary for the decommissioning of the reactor pressure vessel. In 2020, ASN authorised the creation of a new effluents storage facility at the Bugey 1 reactor to replace the old station, which will be put out of service, decommissioned and cleaned out. ASN considers that the Bugey 1 reactor decommissioning and vessel characterisation operations are proceeding with a satisfactory level of safety. The licensee ensures rigorous monitoring of the equipment and the ongoing decommissioning works. THE INSTALLATIONS AND ACTIVITIES TO REGULATE COMPRISES: 4 Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) operated by EDF: • Bugey (4 reactors of 900 MWe), • Saint-Alban (2 reactors of 1,300 MWe), • Cruas-Meysse (4 reactors of 900 MWe), • Tricastin (4 reactors of 900 MWe); th e nuclear fuel fabrication plants operated by Framatome in Romans‑sur‑Isère; the “nuclear fuel cycle” plants operated by Orano on the Tricastin industrial platform; the Operational Hot Unit (BCOT) at Tricastin, operated by EDF; the High Flux Reactor (RHF) operated by the Laue-Langevin Institute in Grenoble; the Activated waste packaging and storage facility (Iceda) under construction on the Bugey nuclear site and the Bugey Inter-Regional Warehouse (MIR) for fuel storage operated by EDF; reactor 1 undergoing decommissioning at the Bugey NPP operated by EDF; the Superphénix reactor undergoing decommissioning at Creys-Malville and its auxiliary installations, operated by EDF; the Ionisos irradiator in Dagneux; the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) reactors and plants in Grenoble, waiting to be delicensed; the CERN international research centre located on the Swiss-French border; small-scale nuclear activities in the medical sector: • 22 external-beam radiotherapy departments, • 6 brachytherapy departments, • 23 nuclear medicine departments, • 130 facilities using fluoroscopy-guided interventional procedures, • 148 scanners within 115 facilities, • some 10,000 medical and dental radiology devices; small-scale nuclear activities in the veterinary, industrial and research sectors: • one synchrotron, • about 700 veterinary practices (surgeries or clinics), • 34 industrial radiology agencies, • about 600 users of industrial equipment, • about 70 research units; activities associated with the transport of radioactive substances; ASN-approved laboratories and organisations: • 3 organisations and 7 agencies approved for radiation protection controls. p. 206 p. 238 p. 266 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 41 REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION AUVERGNE-RHÔNE-ALPES