ASN Report 2020

Masurca research reactor – CEA Centre The Masurca reactor (BNI 39), whose construction was authorised by a Decree of 14 December 1966, was intended for neutron studies, chiefly on the cores of fast neutron reactors, and the development of neutron measurement techniques. The reactor has been shut down since 2007. Final shutdown of the facility was declared by the CEA on 31 December 2018. The licensee submitted the facility decommissioning file in December 2020. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety and radiation protection of Masurca in 2020 is on the whole satisfactory. Éole and Minerve research reactors – CEA Centre The experimental Éole and Minerve reactors are very-low- power (less than 1 kW) critical mock-ups that were used for neutron studies, in particular to evaluate the absorption of gamma rays or neutrons by materials. The Éole reactor (BNI 42), whose construction was authorised by a Decree of 23 June 1965, was intended primarily for neutron studies of moderated arrays, in particular those of PWRs and boiling water reactors. The Minerve reactor (BNI 95), whose transfer from the Fontenay‑aux‑Roses studies centre to the Cadarache studies centre was authorised by a Decree of 21 September 1977, is situated in the same hall as the Éole reactor. Teaching and research activities were carried out on these mock-ups until their final shutdown on 31 December 2017. The CEA submitted the periodic safety review report for the Éole and Minerve facilities in February 2020. ASN continued the examination of the decommissioning f iles for these reactors in 2020. Pending decommissioning, removal of the radioactivematerials prescribed by ASN resolution CODEP-CLG-2016-049370 of 16 December 2016 took place before the end of 2020 deadline. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety and radiation protection of the Éole and Minerve reactors in 2020 is on the whole satisfactory. The facility gives ASN half-yearly reports on the progress of its decommissioning preparation operations to prove compliance with the planned schedule. The enriched Uranium Processing Facilities – CEA Centre From 1963 to 1995, the enriched Uranium and Plutonium Facilities (ATUe – BNI 52) converted uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) f rom the enrichment plants into sinterable oxide, and ensured the chemical reprocessing of waste from the manufacture of fuel elements. Decommissioning of this facility was authorised by Decree in February 2006. The licensee is seriously behind schedule in these decom­ missioning operations, mainly due to the poor prior assessment of the radiological condition of the facility. Conse­ quently, the licensee has requested the modif ication of its decommissioning decree on several occasions to take account of the true radiological condition of the facility. At the end of 2020, ASN issued an opinion on a draft decommissioning decree amendment intended to update the regulatory oversight of the last decommissioning steps of this facility. The level of nuclear safety and radiation protection of the ATUe facilities in 2020 is on the whole satisfactory. The only activities in the facility today are the maintenance and regulatory periodic inspection operations. Central Fissile Material Warehouse – CEA Centre Created in 1968, the Central Fissile Material Warehouse (BNI 53) was a warehouse for storing enriched uranium and plutonium until its final shutdown and the removal of all its nuclear materials on 31 December 2017. The licensee submitted its decommissioning file in November 2018, and ASN is currently examining it. The decommissioning preparation operations initiated in 2018, notably the chemical and radiological character­ isations of the facility, continued in 2020. By resolution CODEP‑MRS-2020-023523 of 3 April 2020, ASN also authorised the emptying and degassing of the fuel tanks necessary for supplying the facility’s f ixed generator set with a view to shutting it down. Alongside this, an inspection of the facility’s periodic safety reviewmethodology supplemented the ongoing examination of the BNI 53 safety review report, submitted in October 2017. LECA-STAR High-Activity Laboratory – CEA Centre The Active Fuel Examination Laboratory (LECA – BNI 55) and the Treatment, Clean-out and Reconditioning Station (STAR) – an extension of LECA – constitute expert assessment tools used by the CEA for the analysis of spent fuels. Commissioned in 1964, the LECA laboratory enables the CEA to carry out destructive and non-destructive examinations of spent fuel from the nuclear power, research and naval propulsion sectors. As the facility is old, it was partially reinforced in the early 2010’s to increase its earthquake resistance. On 10 July 2020, ASN issued a resolution CODEP-CLG-2020-036269 setting the requirements applicable to LECA in the light of the conclusions of its periodic safety review, which makes continued operation conditional on the limiting of the potential source term of the facility in accident situations and the performance of work to improve control of the risks relating to earthquakes, fire and flooding. The CEA had identified the reinforcements necessary to guarantee the stability of LECA in an earthquake of intensity equivalent to the maximum historically probable earthquake. These provisions are to be implemented before the end of 2023. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 95 REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION PROVENCE ALPES-CÔTE D’AZUR