ASN Report 2020

Centre‑Val de Loire Region The Orléans division regulates nuclear safety, radiation protection and the transport of radioactive substances in the 6 départements of the Centre‑Val de Loire region. In 2020, ASN carried out 151 nuclear safety and radiation protection inspections: 123 inspections of the nuclear installations on the EDF sites of Belleville-sur-Loire, Chinon, Dampierre-en-Burly and Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux, and 28 inspections in small-scale nuclear activities in the Centre-Val de Loire region. ASNalso ensured64days of labour inspection in theNuclear Power Plants (NPPs). In 2020, 8 significant events rated level 1 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES scale) were reported by licensees of the EDF nuclear facilities in the Centre‑Val de Loire region. ASN inspectors issued 5 violation reports in the exercise of their oversight duties. Belleville-sur-Loire nuclear power plant The Belleville‑sur‑Loire NPP is situated in the north-east of the Cher département , on the left bank of the river Loire, at the crossroads of four département s (Cher, Nièvre, Yonne and Loiret) and two administrative regions (Bour- gogne‑Franche‑Comté and Centre‑Val de Loire). The NPP comprises two 1,300 MWe reactors commissioned in 1987 and 1988, which constitute BNI 127 and 128 respectively. ASN considers that the performance of the Belleville-sur- Loire NPP is in line with ASN’s general assessment of the EDF plants in the areas of nuclear safety and radiation protection. The environmental performance, however, is below the national average. With regard to nuclear safety, the tightened surveillance exercised by ASN f rom 2017 to 2019 led the licensee to implement an action plan to improve the site’s performance in facility management. ASN considers that the site’s performance in this area in 2020 once again reached a generally satisfactory level and that it must keep up this level of rigour to maintain the observed improvements over the long term. The inspections revealed good management of the periodic tests and an improvement in the monitoring of parameters in the control room. Progress must nevertheless be made in the detection of deviations. With regard to maintenance of the facilities, the NPP’s performance must be improved, particularly in view of the unforeseen events induced by the performance of maintenance operations during the 10-yearly outage of reactor 1. Lastly, f ire risk control is unsatisfactory: ASN effectively observed numerous deviations during inspections focusing on management of the fire risk, and two significant fire outbreaks occurred on the site in 2020. ASN considers that the radiation protection performance of the Belleville‑sur‑Loire NPP is satisfactory. The licensee has maintained a high standard of rigour in radiation protection during the health crisis. It nevertheless appears that the implementation of measures to limit the exposure of certain workers to ionising radiation is insufficient. In the area of environmental protection, ASN considers that waste management and the monitoring of discharges in normal operating conditions are satisfactory. On the other hand, the inspections carried out in 2020 revealed inadequate management of containment of the water used to extinguish fires that occurred on the site. ASNmoreover observed several deviations concerning the prevention of the risk associated with Legionella. The site rapidly made commitments on this subject. With regard to labour inspection in the context of the Covid‑19 pandemic, various document and field inspections were carried out on the theme of health crisis management, particularly during the activities to seal the reactor 1 contain­ ment wall. The observations addressed to the NPP and to the subcontractor companies resulted in corrective actions. The licensee is also expected to take action in response to the f inding made during the inspections conducted in the buildings of the Ultimate Backup Diesel generators (DUS), commissioned in 2020. Lastly, an inspection was carried out on the secondment of foreign employees. 52 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION