ASN Report 2020

In 2020, ASN conducted 170 inspections in the Grand Est region, of which 79 were in the NPPs in service, 4 in radioactive waste disposal facilities and on the site of the Chooz A NPP currently being decommissioned, 73 in the small-scale nuclear activities sector, 8 in the transport of radioactive substances and 6 concerning approved organisations or approved laboratories. ASN also carried out 14.5 days of labour inspections in the NPPs. During 2020, 19 significant events reported by nuclear installation licensees in the Grand Est region were rated level 1 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES scale). In small-scale nuclear activities, 2 significant events were rated level 1 on the INES scale (1 in the industrial sector and 1 in the medical sector). Cattenom nuclear power plant The Cattenom NPP is situated on the left bank of the river Moselle, 5 km from the town of Thionville and 10 km from Luxembourg and Germany. It comprises four PWRs each with a power rating of 1,300 MWe, commissioned between 1986 and 1991. Reactors 1, 2, 3 and 4 constitute BNIs 124, 125, 126 and 137 respectively. Along with the Paluel and Gravelines NPPs, it is one of the world’s largest NPPs in terms of installed power. ASN considers that the performance of the Cattenom NPP with regard to safety is improving and, despite some persistent weaknesses, is in line with the ASN’s general assessment of the EDF nuclear fleet with regard to environmental protection and radiation protection. The year 2020 was thus marked by a degree of improvement in the site’s safety performance, with results that stand out positively with respect to the rest of the EDF power plants. This trend must nevertheless be analysed in the 2020 context of a relatively lowmaintenance work load which is more conducive to good results. This trend therefore remains to be confirmed in the light of maintenance programmes with signif icantly higher workloads in the years to come and the consolidation of the results expected from the deployment of the operating rigour improvement plan initiated in 2020. The Châlons‑en‑Champagne and Strasbourg divisions jointly regulate nuclear safety, radiation protection and the transport of radioactive substances in the 10 départements of the Grand Est region. Grand Est Region THE INSTALLATIONS AND ACTIVITIES TO REGULATE COMPRISES: Basic Nuclear Installations: • the Cattenom NPP (4 reactors of 1,300 MWe), • the Chooz A NPP (1 reactor of 305 MWe undergoing decommissioning), • the Chooz B NPP (2 reactors of 1,450 MWe), • the Fessenheim NPP (2 reactors of 900 MWe) in f inal shutdown status, • the Nogent-sur-Seine NPP (2 reactors of 1,300 MWe), • the CSA storage centre for short-lived low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste located in Soulaines‑Dhuys in the Aube département ; the Cigéo geological disposal project for long-lived high- and intermediate-level radioactive waste; small-scale nuclear activities in the medical sector: • 14 external-beam radiotherapy departments, • 5 brachytherapy departments, • 20 nuclear medicine departments, • 93 computed tomography scanners, • 80 centres performing interventional fluoroscopy-guided procedures, • some 2,100 medical and dental radiology devices; small-scale nuclear activities in the veterinary, industrial and research sectors: 277 industrial and veterinary activities subject to the licensing system, • 24 companies exercising an industrial radiography activity, • 50 research laboratories situated primarily in the universities of the region; activities associated with the transport of radioactive substances; 5 head offices of organisations approved in radiation protection. p. 206 p. 238 p. 266 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 59 REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION