ASN Report 2020

The Bordeaux and Marseille divisions jointly regulate nuclear safety, radiation protection and the transport of radioactive substances in the 13 départements of the Occitanie region. Occitanie Region In 2020, ASN carried out 91 inspections in the Occitanie region, comprising 49 inspections in Basic Nuclear Install­ ations (BNIs) 36 inspections in small-scale nuclear activities, 2 in the transport of radioactive substances and4concerning organisations and laboratories approved by ASN. ASN also carried out 14.5 days of labour inspection at the Golfech Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). During 2020, 1 significant event rated level 2 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES scale) and 3 events rated level 1 were reported by nuclear installation licensees in Occitanie. Golfech nuclear power plant The Golfech NPP operated by EDF is located in the Tarn‑et‑Garonne département , 40 km west of Montauban. This NPP comprises two 1,300 Megawatts electric (MWe) pressurised water reactors. Reactor 1 constitutes BNI 135 and reactor 2 BNI 142. ASN considers that the NPP’s nuclear safety and radiation protection performance, despite having improved, is below the general assessment of the EDF plants. ASN will continue its tightened inspections in these areas in 2021. ASN considers that the performance of the Golfech NPP with regard to environmental protection is on the whole in line with ASN’s general assessment of the EDF plants. In the area of nuclear safety, ASN has noted signif icant improvements resulting from the implementation of sub­ stantive corrective actions further to the in-depth inspection of October 2019. The inspections on the theme of operating management evidenced the signif icance of the work done by the Golfech NPP to increase operating rigour. ASN nevertheless considers that more rigorous application of the procedures by the workers and better preparation of the activities would have prevented the occurrence of certain significant events. Furthermore, in the area of maintenance and the management of works associated with the reactor outages, ASN considers that the site must rapidly improve its organisation in order to ensure better traceability of the activities and better management of the deviations and contingencies affecting the facilities. With regard to worker radiation protection, ASN considers that the situation has improved with respect to 2019 but remains below the required level. The findings from inspections and the events reported by the Golfech NPP reveal inadequate application of the basic rules of radiation protection by the workers. In the area of environmental protection, ASN considers that the Golfech NPP’s monitoring and waste management results are satisfactory. The site must nevertheless finalise its strategy for containing an accidental spillage of hazardous products in certain areas of its facility. With regard to labour inspection, ASN has noted deficiencies in the regulatory monitoring of the electrical installations and considers that the coordination of the risks linked to the interfaces between the various activities must be improved. ASN considers that the worker safety results are not satisfactory at present, but notes a drive to identify, report and deal with the risk situations to try to improve this situation. ASN has specifically monitored the health crisis, through inspections in the field, participation at extraordinary meetings of the social and economic committee and by responding to individual and collective requests. 86 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION