∙ the Laboratory for Research and Fabrication of Advanced Nuclear Fuels (Lefca –BNI 123), located in Cadarache; ∙ the Spent Fuel Testing Laboratory (LECI –BNI 50), located in Saclay. Research and Development (R&D) laboratories R&D on new technologies is also carried out for the nuclear industry in laboratories, more particularly with regard to the development of new fuels, their recycling, or the management of ultimate waste. The Alpha facility and laboratory for transuranian elements analysis and reprocessing studies (Atalante –BNI 148), situated in Marcoule and operated by CEA, provides Orano Cycle with technical support for optimising the operation of the La Hague plants. It carries out experimental work to qualify the behaviour of nuclear glass matrices in order to guarantee the long-term confinement properties of high-level waste packages. In 2015, following the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident, ASN ordered the implementation of new emergency management means, more particularly the construction or reinforcement of the “hardened safety core” emergency centres able to withstand extreme climatic conditions. It finds that these projects are behind schedule on all the CEA centres, for various reasons, and that the initial deadlines were not met. For the Marcoule centre, ASN is still waiting for additional data on the strength of the existing emergency management buildings (containment, accessibility, operability, habitability, etc.). Artificial Radionuclides Production Facility The Artificial Radionuclides Production Facility (UPRA), situated in Saclay and operated by CIS bio international, is a nuclear facility designed according to the same principles as a laboratory (special areas for handling and experimenting with radioactive substances, using appropriate means), for the purposes of research and to develop radionuclides for medical uses. CIS bio international is a subsidiary of the Curium group, a manufacturer of radiopharmaceuticals. 1.2.2 Particle accelerators Some particle accelerators are BNIs. These installations use electrical or magnetic fields to accelerate charged particles. The accelerated particle beams produce strong fields of ionising radiation, activating the materials in contact, which then emit ionising radiation even after the beams have stopped. Exposure to ionising radiation is thus the primary risk in this type of facility. The Ganil The Large National Heavy Ion Accelerator (Ganil –BNI 113), located in Caen, carries out fundamental and applied research work, more particularly in atomic physics and nuclear physics. This research facility produces, accelerates and distributes ion beams with various energy levels to study the structure of the atom. The CERN The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) is an international organisation situated between France and Switzerland, whose role is to carry out purely scientific fundamental research programmes concerning high energy particles. The CERN does not operate just one particle accelerator to study the structure of matter, but an entire chain of devices (sometimes called injectors). This chain currently comprises several linear and circular accelerators. Owing to its cross-border location, the CERN is subject to particular verifications by the French and Swiss Authorities. 1.2.3 Industrial ionisation installations Industrial ionisation facilities, called “irradiators”, use the gamma rays emitted by sealed sources of cobalt-60 to irradiate targets in the irradiation cells. These irradiation cells are designed with particularly thick walls and windows, to protect the operators against the ionising radiation. The sealed sources are either placed in the lowered position, stored in a pool under a layer of water which protects the workers, or are placed in the raised position to irradiate the target item. Personnel exposure to ionising radiation is thus the primary risk in these facilities. The main applications of irradiators are to sterilise medical equipment, agrifood products and pharmaceutical raw materials. Irradiators can also be used to study the behaviour of materials under ionising radiation, notably to qualify materials for the nuclear industry. These irradiators are used by: ∙ the Ionisos Group, which operates three facilities located in Dagneux (BNI 68), Pouzauges (BNI 146) and Sablé-sur-Sarthe (BNI 154); ∙ the Steris group, which operates the Gammaster (BNI 147) and Gammatec (BNI 170) facilities in Marseille and Marcoule; ∙ the CEA, which operates the Poséidon irradiator (BNI 77) on the Saclay site. 1.3 Materials storage facilities The materials storage facilities operated by CEA are primarily devoted to the conservation of non-irradiated (or slightly irradiated) uranium and plutonium-bearing fissile materials from other CEA facilities. This activity enables the laboratories (Atalante, Lefca, etc.) to be supplied according to the needs of the experiments being conducted. More recently, they have become a temporary storage solution for the fissile materials which were present in facilities that are now shutdown, such as the research reactors (Éole, Minerve, Osiris, Masurca, etc.). Principles and safety issues The main challenges inherent in these facilities are to prevent the dispersal of radioactive substances and to control the chain reaction (criticality). The safety of these facilities is based on a series of static physical barriers (walls and doors of rooms and buildings) to prevent the dispersal of radioactive substances. When operations are carried out on these substances, static confinement is also provided by the equipment (glovebox, shielded cell) in which these operations are performed. This static confinement is supplemented by dynamic confinement consisting, on the one hand, of a cascade of negative pressure environments between the rooms where there is a risk of radioactive substance dissemination and, on the other, filtration of the gaseous releases into the environment. The chain reaction is controlled by strict instructions regarding the handling, storage and monitoring of the materials being stored. Dedicated storage facilities The Magenta facility (BNI 169), commissioned in 2011 and operated by CEA on its Cadarache site, is dedicated to the storage of non-irradiated fissile material and the non-destructive characterisation of the nuclear materials received. It is notably replacing the Central Fissile Material Warehouse (MCMF –BNI 53), which was finally shut down at the end of 2017. Materials storage areas in BNIs Other radioactive material storage areas, located within a BNI, are authorised to store radioactive materials on the site, but in quantities far lower than those stored in Magenta. This is, for example, the case with BNI 55, called “STAR”, which stores spent fuels, following reprocessing and/or conditioning. 324 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2021 12 – NUCLEAR RESEARCH AND MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES
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