During its inspections in 2022, ASN noted the rigour applied by the project teams in the investigations into the signs of corrosion and the overall organisation of the worksite. The handling of the manufacturing irregularities in a plant in Portugal and of the modified material certificates was also deemed appropriate and satisfactory. ASN considers that the organisation in place for construction of the JHR remains satisfactory and that the project is managed rigorously with a commitment to transparency. ITER The ITER installation (BNI 174), under construction on the Cadarache site since 2010 and adjacent to the CEA facilities, will be a fusion experimental reactor used for the scientific and technical demonstration of the control of thermonuclear fusion energy obtained by magnetic confinement of a deuterium-tritium plasma during long-duration experiments with a significant power level (500 MW developed for 400 seconds). This international project enjoys financial support from China, South Korea, the United States, India, Japan, Russia and the European Union, who make in-kind contributions by providing equipment for the project. The large quantities of tritium that will be brought into play in this installation, the intense neutron flow and the resulting activation of materials have serious implications regarding radiation protection and will represent true challenges for the safe management of waste during the operation and decommissioning of the installation. Assessment of the CEA Cadarache centre ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety of the CEA Cadarache centre in 2022 is on the whole satisfactory. ASN considers that the BNIs are operated satisfactorily on the whole, especially modifications management and the meeting of commitments. Improvements are nevertheless expected in the performance and traceability of the technical verifications of maintenance operations and monitoring of the condition of Protection-Important Components, and in the indication of their specified requirements. The monitoring of outside contractors has improved compared with the previous situation, and this progress must be consolidated. The majority of the outside contractors are subject to monitoring which is framed and formalised by a specific plan. These monitoring plans are broadly followed and applied by the licensee, which is good. A periodic assessment of monitoring appropriateness and effectiveness is now carried out on some but not all of the facilities. With regard to the containment of radioactive substances, the situation is satisfactory on the whole, but improvements are still to be made in defining the monitoring of certain barriers. ASN observes that deviation management remains contrasted. In effect, improvements are required in certain services concerning in the analysis of the causes or trends relating to recurrent deviations of similar types. ASN considers that the organisation in place for the re-assessment and the conformity check of the periodic safety reviews of the facilities is satisfactory. The tracking of action plan implementation is satisfactory on the whole. With regard to emergency situation management, the licensee has asked for a further extension to the commissioning deadline for the emergency centre that can withstand extreme hazards, further to the difficulties in completing this project. ASN underlines the importance of this centre in the licensee’s emergency organisation, and emphasises the need to keep the compensatory measure proposed by the CEA operational pending the availability of an emergency centre capable of withstanding extreme hazards. The licensee must verify and periodically assess the relevance of the instructions for accident, incident and degraded operating modes. This is because inconsistencies between these instructions and the reality of the facility were discovered in the instructions tested by sampling in inspections in the course of the year. With regard to radiation protection, ASN authorised setting up of the CEA Cadarache radiation protection skills centres under Articles R. 593-112 of the Environment Code and R. 4451-113 of the Labour Code. In the area of waste management, the management of deviations and the traceability of waste monitoring are satisfactory on the whole, but can be improved in certain cases, notably for the legacy waste for which there is no immediate disposal route. The licensee must define action plans to treat and remove the legacy waste which cannot be removed immediately. ASN observes that the level of environmental protection is relatively satisfactory. A polluted sites and soils management procedure must be applied to the historically contaminated areas of the Cadarache site. This procedure must define and prioritise the management actions as appropriate for the current and future uses of the areas concerned. Improvements are also required in the upkeep and appropriateness of the hazardous substance retention structures and the maintaining of measurement redundancy on the discharges for which monitoring is required. 96 ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection • PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D’AZUR •
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