by the facility as well as the means of managing them. The licensee must demonstrate in its decommissioning file that the decommissioning operations will be carried out in as short a time frame as possible. This file undergoes a public inquiry, during which the local residents, local authorities and Local Information Committees (CLI) are called upon to respond. Furthermore, the decommissioning files representing the most significant risks are examined by the Advisory Committee for Decommissioning (GPDEM), set up in 2018. Given that installation decommissioning operations are often very long, the decommissioning decree can stipulate that some steps will be subject to prior approval by ASN on the basis of specific safety analysis files. The above Diagram describes the corresponding regulatory procedure. The decommissioning phase may be preceded by a preparatory stage, provided for in the initial operating licence. This preparatory phase permits, for example, the removal of a portion of the radioactive and chemical substances (including the fuel of a nuclear reactor) as well as preparing for the decommissioning operations (readying of premises, preparation of worksites, training of teams, etc.). It is also during this preparatory phase that the installation characterisation operations can be carried out (radiological mappings, analysis of the operating history), which are vital for establishing the targeted POCO scenarios. The Environment Code requires – as is the case for all other BNIs – that the safety of a facility undergoing decommissioning be reviewed periodically and at least every 10 years. ASN’s objective with these periodic safety reviews is to ascertain that the installation complies with the provisions of its decommissioning decree and the associated safety and radiation protection requirements through to its delicensing by applying the principles of defence in depth specific to nuclear safety, with an approach that is proportionate to the risks. This is because, if the decommissioning operations result in a weakening, or even the disappearance of the existing physical barriers, the licensee must, depending on the residual safety and radiation exposure risks, maintain appropriate lines of defence necessary for the protection of workers and the environment (setting up of air locks, nuclear ventilation, radiation monitors, etc.). On the basis of the decommissioning file submitted by the licensee, the Minister issues a decree stipulating the decommissioning operations to be performed on the installation and the duration of decommissioning. ASN may also impose technical requirements through a resolution in order to regulate the decommissioning operations more closely. Decommissioning concerns all the technical operations carried out with a view to achieving a final state that allows delicensing of the facility. It concerns the electromechanical decommissioning and clean-out and remediation of soils and structures. Decommissioning Decree Decommissioning operations Delicensing consist in withdrawing a facility from the list of BNIs, which implies that the facility from this point is no longer subject to the BNI legal and administrative system. Delicensing takes place after completion of the decommissioning operations on the basis of a file presenting the final state of the facility. When necessary, usage restrictions may introduced if it has not been possible to remove all the pollution. Delicensing resolution The duty of ASN stops here DECOMMISSIONING DELICENSING DÉCISION DÉCISION DÉCISION DÉCISION RESOLUTION D ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 339 • 13 • Decommissioning of Basic Nuclear Installations 13 01 07 08 AP 04 10 06 12 14 03 09 05 11 02
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