In the area of radiation protection, ASN considers the performance of the Belleville‑sur‑Loire NPP to be stable. It underlines the radiological cleanliness of the premises and good overall control of the various issues. In the area of environmental protection, ASN considers that effluent management and the monitoring of discharges in normal operating conditions are satisfactory. It notes that action is being taken to correct the deviations in waste management identified in early 2022. The year 2022 was marked by a large increase in cases of exceeding legionella colonisation thresholds (more than ten). The compensatory measures implemented by EDF were not enough to rapidly restore a normal and controlled situation, pending the commissioning of a monochloramine treatment station, planned for the end of 2024. The examination and consultations concerning the modification of the environmental resolutions regulating the site discharges continued in 2022. As far as labour inspection was concerned, ASN focused its attention on monitoring the accidents and “near-accidents” in the Centre-Val de Loire region. With no serious accidents having occurred at the Belleville-sur-Loire NPP in 2022, cross-functional subjects were examined (right to strike, radiation protection skills centre). As in 2021, some of these inspections were conducted jointly by the labour inspectorate and safety inspection. Dampierre‑en‑Burly nuclear power plant The Dampierre-en-Burly NPP is situated on the right bank of the Loire river, in the Loiret département, about 10 km downstream of the town of Gien and 45 km upstream of Orléans. It comprises four 900 MWe nuclear reactors which were commissioned in 1980 and 1981. Reactors 1 and 2 constitute BNI 84, and reactors 3 and 4 BNI 85. The site accommodates one of the regional bases of the FARN, the special emergency response force created by EDF in 2011 following the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident (Japan). Its role is to intervene in pre-accident or accident situations, on any NPP in France, by providing additional human resources and emergency equipment. ASN considers the nuclear safety and radiation protection performance of the Dampierre-en-Burly NPP to be far below the national average. The environmental performance on the whole is in line with ASN’s general assessment of the EDF plants. With regard to nuclear safety, normal operational management performance deteriorated markedly in 2022, with the number of significant events reported during the year being among the highest for the EDF NPPs (about ten of the events were rated level 1 on the INES scale). The identified causes are organisational deficiencies relating to shortcomings in documents, insufficient communication between operational management teams, and inadequate command of the RGEs (particularly when material difficulties arise). Management of the periodic tests was also found to be far below average in 2022. In view of these factors, the unit director gave ASN a presentation of the plan of “operational management” rigour put in place as of May 2022, for which ASN will conduct various inspections in 2023 to verify its application and judge its effectiveness. The site’s management of the fire risk is also sub-standard and must remain a priority target for action in 2023. As far as maintenance of the facilities is concerned, the site’s performance is considered below the national average, in an industrial context where the second reactor on the site is undergoing its fourth ten‑yearly outage. The year 2022 was marked by several situations of out-of-service equipment necessitating reactor shutdowns and reflecting a problem of reliability of these equipment items. ASN also expects the improvements in the quality of the site’s operational documents used to conduct maintenance activities and in the methods of requalification following work interventions. As far as radiation protection is concerned, the performance of the Dampierre-en-Burly NPP improved slightly in 2022 but remains insufficient. The radiological cleanliness of the facilities and the management of radiological work regimes must notably be improved to bring them in line with the general assessment of the EDF plants. ASN nevertheless underlines the effectiveness of the site’s action plan implemented further to numerous significant “transport” events that occurred in 2021 due to problems of surface contamination of trailers and wagons. With regard to environmental protection, the performance of the Dampierre-en-Burly NPP improved in 2022, particularly in its management of the microbiological risk. Although no exceeding of the gaseous and liquid effluents discharge limits was observed in 2022, the management of hazardous substance containment must nevertheless be improved. Moreover, the environmental resolutions regulating the site’s discharges were modified in 2022 to allow the implementation of a new treatment against the proliferation of pathogenic organisms on reactors 2 and 4. Lastly, with regard to labour inspection, following the actions taken in 2021 and 2022, management of the electrical risks shall remain a priority in 2023. Inspections were moreover carried out on diverse themes such as management of the radiation protection skills centres and the activities and work conducted during a reactor outage. 50 ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection • CENTRE-VAL DE LOIRE •
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