review in the LPC. The methods of waste removal were also inspected. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety of the installation on these subjects is broadly satisfactory. In October 2022, the licensee reported a significant event rated level 1 on the INES scale that occurred within the LPC, concerning a safety culture deficiency in an employee of the Risks Prevention Service (SPR) of the CEA Cadarache centre, for noncompliance with controlled area access requirements. ASN will check the implementation of the actions proposed by the licensee to prevent the recurrence of this type of event. The methods of controlling accesses to controlled areas at the CEA shall be examined. 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 and in the interim has carried out decommissioning preparation work, such as removal of asbestos from the premises, rehabilitation of buildings and removal of conventional equipment. At the end of 2021, all the fertile materials had been transferred to the centre’s materials storage facility and the ventilation network had been simplified. A provisional building, whose construction was completed in 2022, was built to accommodate the VLL waste from the operations prior to decommissioning. The licensee has made progress in the management of deviations, which are subject to rigorous tracking. ASN considers that the standard of nuclear safety in 2022, particularly concerning fire protection and decommissioning work, and of radiation protection, is satisfactory on the whole. Éole and Minerve research reactors – CEA centre The experimental reactors Éole and Minerve are very-lowpower (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 (BWRs). 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 decommissioning files for BNIs 42 and 95, submitted by the CEA in 2018, underwent a public inquiry during October 2022 with a view to preparing the decommissioning decrees. ASN considers that the standard of safety of BNIs 42 and 95 is broadly satisfactory, but the monitoring of outside contractors must be improved. The inspection conducted in 2022 showed that the organisational provisions for monitoring the action plan stemming from the periodic safety review are robust, with good coordination between these actions, the ongoing decommissioning preparation operations and the BNI functioning operations. This being said, the feedback from the actions implemented further to the periodic safety review must be better formalised. The Enriched Uranium Processing Facilities – CEA centre From 1963 to 1995, the ATUe (BNI 52) converted uranium hexafluoride (UF6) from 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 had fallen substantially behind the initial schedule in the decommissioning operations. It requested a modification of its decree in 2010 and 2014, to take account of the true radiological status of the facility. The new Decommissioning Decree was published on 16 April 2021. ASN has regulated the performance of certain decommissioning operations by two resolutions of 14 October 2021. In 2022, the licensee was authorised to update its baseline requirements further to the publishing of the BNI Decommissioning Decree. The activities in the facility today are essentially maintenance and periodic and regulatory inspection operations. The decommissioning operations will thus be able to begin. Most of the actions stemming from the periodic safety review of 2017 have been completed, with the exception of the roof sealing work, which is planned for 2023. Central Fissile Material Warehouse – CEA centre Created in 1968, the MCMF (BNI 53) was a warehouse for storing enriched uranium and plutonium until its final shutdown and 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 public inquiry concerning the MCMF decommissioning application file was held from 26 September 2022 to 28 October 2022. The decommissioning preparation operations initiated in 2018, notably the chemical and radiological characterisations of the facility, continued in 2022. ASN considers that the licensee’s organisational measures for monitoring these preparation operations are on the whole satisfactory. High-Level Activity Laboratory LECA‑STAR – CEA centre BNI 55 accommodates the LECA laboratory and its extension STAR, which constitute the CEA’s expert assessment facilities for the analysis of irradiated fuels. Commissioned in 1964, the LECA laboratory enables the CEA to carry out destructive and non-destructive examinations of spent ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 93 Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection • PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D’AZUR •
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