Generally speaking, ASN is closely involved in the various actions carried out by the IAEA, providing significant support for certain initiatives, notably those which were developed following the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident. Management of nuclear and radiological emergency situations ASN takes part in the IAEA’s work to improve notification and information exchanges in radiological emergency situations. On this subject, ASN takes part in the exercises organised by the IAEA to test the operational provisions of the Convention on the Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, called “convention exercises” or “ConvEx exercises”. These exercises, which are more specifically designed to enable all the participants to acquire practical experience and understand the procedures involved in preparing, and running these interventions, are of three types: ∙ the ConvEx-1 exercises, more specifically designed to test the emergency lines of communication established with the points of contact in the Member States; ∙ the ConvEx-2 exercises, designed to test particular aspects of the international framework for the preparation and performance of emergency interventions and the assessment and prognosis provisions and tools for emergency situations; ∙ the ConvEx-3 exercises, aimed at assessing the emergency intervention provisions and the resources in place to deal with a severe emergency for several days. In 2021, ASN took part in one ConvEx-3 type exercise (see chapter 4). ASN also takes part in defining international assistance strategy, requirements and means and in developing the Response Assistance Network (RANET). 3.2 The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD Created in 1958, the NEA today comprises 38 member countries from among the most industrially developed states. Its main goal is to help the member countries to maintain and expand the scientific, technological and legal bases essential to the safe, environmentally-friendly and economical use of nuclear energy. Within the NEA, ASN is more particularly involved in the work of the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA). It also takes part in the Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health, the Radioactive Waste Management Committee, the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear installations and Legacy Management, as well as several working groups of the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations. The various NEA committees coordinate working groups of experts from the member countries. Within the CNRA, ASN contributes to the working groups on inspection practices, acquired operating experience, the regulation of new reactors, safety culture, codes and standards, as well as public communication by safety regulators. 3.3 The Multinational Design Evaluation Program (MDEP) for new reactor models The MDEP is an association of safety regulators created in 2006 by ASN and the NRC. The MDEP aims to share experience and approaches in the regulatory evaluation of new reactor models, to contribute to harmonisation of safety standards and their implementation. Programme members With the inclusion of Argentina in 2017, the MDEP now comprises 16 national safety regulators: AERB (India), ARN (Argentina), ASN (France), CNSC (Canada), FANR (United Arab Emirates), HAEA (Hungary), NNR (South Africa), NNSA (China), NRA (Japan), NRC (United States), NSSC (South Korea), ONR (United Kingdom), Rostechnadzor (Russia), SSM (Sweden), STUK (Finland), NDK (Turkey). Organisation The broad outlines of the work done within the MDEP are defined by a strategy committee and implemented by a technical steering committee, which has been chaired by an ASN deputy Director General since 2014. The work is carried out by working groups for the main nuclear reactor designs currently under construction around the world: the Framatome EPR, the AP-1000 from the American Westinghouse, the Korean APR-1400, the Russian VVER and the Chinese HPR-1000 (Hualong). A transverse working group concerns the inspection of nuclear component suppliers, the Vendor Inspection Cooperation Working Group (VICWG). Each of the groups dedicated to a particular reactor model brings together the safety regulators of the countries building or envisaging the construction of reactors of this type. The EPR group in which ASN participates also includes authorities from the United Kingdom, Finland, China, India and Sweden. Activities in 2021 and closure of the programme In 2021, seeing that work was coming to an end on several reactor models, the members of the programme and its technical secretariat, the NEA, organised the transition to a scaled-down MDEP programme as of 2022. Eight of the sixteen members, including ASN, withdrew from the MDEP in 2021. The continued international cooperation as of 2022 in the field of EPR reactor operations, will be between the safety regulators concerned, outside the MDEP, in an ad hoc administrative framework. Moreover, in 2021, nuclear component supplier inspection activities were transferred to the NEA’s CNRA committee. 3.4 The International Nuclear Regulators’ Association (INRA) INRA comprises the heads of the regulators of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. This association is a forum for regular and informal discussions concerning topical matters in these various countries and the positions adopted on common international issues. It meets twice a year in the country holding the Presidency, with each country acting as president for one year in turn. Four meetings were held in 2021. The first three, which were held remotely, enabled the association’s members to discuss national topical subjects, management and the safety consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, safety culture and improving the efficiency of the regulators. At the September meeting, held in-person in the margins of the IAEA’s General Conference, the situation on the Fukushima Daiichi site and innovation in the nuclear sector were extensively covered. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2021 197 06 – INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 08 07 13 04 10 06 12 14 03 09 05 11 02 01 AP
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