ASN Report 2020

Phénix reactor – CEA Centre The Phénix NPP (BNI 71) is a demonstration fast breeder reactor cooled with liquid sodium. This reactor, with an electrical power rating of 250 MWe, was def initively shut down in 2009 and is currently being decommissioned. The major decommissioning phases are regulated by Decree 2016-739 of 2 June 2016. ASN resolution 2016‑DC‑0564 of 7 July 2016 lays down various milestones and decom­ missioning operations for the CEA. Removal of the spent fuel and equipment, despite unforeseen disruptions in the pace of work, continued in 2020 in accordance with the ASN requirements and the licensee’s commitments made in the context of the facility’s periodic safety review and transition to the decommissioning phase. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety and radiation protection of the Phénix NPP is on the whole satisfactory. Improvements are nevertheless expected regarding com­ pliance with the environment resolution, optimisation of waste zoning, the times taken to implement corrective actions and preservation of the memory of the facility. Compliance with the deadlines for replying to ASN requests improved at the end of 2020, an improvement that must be maintained and continued. Construction of the NOAH facility, which will treat the sodium from Phénix and other CEA installations, progressed in 2020 and the operating tests prior to commissioning are continuing. The reference decommissioning scenario for the facility is currently being redefined in line with the decommissioning strategy for all the CEA facilities. These changes in the reference scenario will lead to a request to modify the Decree, which prescribes decommissioning of the NPP before the end of 2023. Diadem facility – CEA Centre The Diadem facility, currently under construction, shall be dedicated to the storage of containers of radioactive waste emitting beta and gamma radiation, or waste rich in alpha emitters, pending construction of facilities for the disposal of long-lived waste, or low and intermediate-level short-lived wastes whose characteristics – especially the dose rate – means they cannot be accepted as-is by the Aube repository (CSA). ASN considers that worksite management is satisfactory despite the health crisis, whose impact on the project will nevertheless have to be quantif ied more precisely. The contractual management of the contracts is a critical point in the overall progress of the project. ASN emphasises that this facility is destined to play a key role in the CEA’s overall decommissioning and waste management strategy and it is the only facility planned for the interim storage of waste packages of this type. The operations necessary for its commissioning, today planned for 2024, must therefore be a priority for the CEA. The f iling of a request to modify the creation authorisation decree is planned in 2021 further to change in the package closure technology. The CEA moreover is considering f iling the f irst packaging approval requests, necessary for production of the inter­ mediate-level long-lived waste (ILW-LL) packages which will be stored in the facility in 2021. Assessment of the CEA Marcoule centre ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety and radiation protection of the CEA Marcoule centre is on the whole satisfactory. With regard to environmental protection, the CEA submitted two studies required by the Basic Nuclear Installation (BNI) discharges resolutions, which will be examined: ཛྷ the health and environmental assessment of liquid and gaseous chemical discharges on the Marcoule platform; ཛྷ a technical-economic study of the provisions for avoiding or reducing the discharge of potentially polluted stormwaters. This study integrates the bus station project situated to the north of the Phénix BNI. The licensee satisfactorily continued its action plan for bringing its piezometers into compliance with the requirements of the Order of 11 September 2003 by 2024. In the light of the inspections conducted in 2020, ASN considers that the management of on-site transport operations and environmental monitoring at the Marcoule centre are satisfactory. With regard to emergency management, ASN authorised the implementation of the On-site Emergency Plan which will also be subject to the approval of the Defence Nuclear Safety Authority (ASND). Complements to the examination of the stress tests carried out further to the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident are still awaited and concern in particular the impact of the planned work to reinforce the earthquake resistance of the emergency management buildings and the proof of the habitability and accessibility of these premises in the various accident situations encountered. Lastly, concerning the seismic hazard to consider for the Marcoule centre, the characterisation of the particular “site effects”, within the meaning of Basic Safety Rule RFS 2001‑01, and specific to each facility at the centre, is the subject of an ongoing technical examination. 88 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION