Individual nuclear power plant assessments The ASN assessments of each NPP are detailed in the Regional Overview in this report. With regard to safety, the NPPs at Chinon and Tricastin stood out positively in 2023. The NPP at Dampierre-en-Burly and, to a lesser extent that of Le Blayais, under-performed by comparison with the other NPPs operated by EDF. With regard to radiation protection, the Penly NPP stands out positively. ASN considers that the NPPs of Cattenom, Gravelines, SaintLaurent-des-Eaux and, to a lesser extent, Bugey, under-performed. With regard to environmental protection, the NPPs of Chooz B, Civaux, Penly and Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux stood out positively. On the other hand, the Bugey NPP under-performed. New reactor projects In 2023, EDF completed the hot requalification tests of the Flamanville EPR reactor and prepared for its commissioning. The work to repair the secondary system welds was carried out rigorously, with a good level of monitoring by EDF, leading to confidence that a high level of production quality will be achieved. More generally, ASN considers that significant work has been done in recent years to obtain a satisfactory level of completion of the installation. In 2023, EDF submitted the creation authorisation application for two EPR 2 reactors on the Penly site. ASN considers that the design of the EPR 2 reactor is more advanced than the Flamanville EPR reactor at the same stage, which is a positive point. EDF also sent ASN a safety options file for its Nuward Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project. Nuclear power plants being decommissioned and waste management facilities INSTALLATIONS SHUT DOWN OR UNDERGOING DECOMMISSIONING The reactors finally shut down or undergoing decommissioning operated by EDF (Brennilis, Chooz A, Fessenheim, Superphénix, Gas-Cooled Reactors – GCRs) no longer contain any spent fuel. The main safety issues therefore concern the containment of radioactive substances and radiation protection. Some installations also present an additional risk linked to the presence of asbestos, sometimes combined with the presence of radiological contamination, which makes the intervention conditions more complex. Generally speaking, ASN considers that the EDF facilities undergoing decommissioning or being prepared for decommissioning are well managed and that the licensee is correctly meeting its commitments. With regard to radiation protection, the organisation put into place by EDF in its radiation protection expertise centres is satisfactory. With respect to these projects, EDF gives priority to risk mitigation in its facilities. ASN considers that the decommissioning or decommissioning preparation operations on the facilities other than the GCRs is progressing at a satisfactory pace. Significant milestones were reached in 2023 for these installations, notably with completion of the decontamination of the primary system of Fessenheim NPP reactor 2 and finalisation of the operations in preparation for the dismantling of installation EL4-D (Brennilis NPP). ASN will be vigilant with respect to the decommissioning of EDF’s reactors, notably the operations involved in cutting up the reactor vessel of the Chooz A NPP, from which Operating Experience Feedback (OEF) should help to determine similar operations for decommissioning of the Fessenheim NPP. With regard to the GCRs, EDF continued “out of vessel” decommissioning work in 2023 on the reactors of Saint-Laurent A, Bugey 1 and Chinon A3 in satisfactory conditions of safety, more specifically completing the decommissioning work on the heat exchangers of Chinon A3. However, the progress of these projects is significantly slower and the completion deadlines for the decommissioning operations envisaged by EDF remain a subject of concern for ASN. During the 2024 examination of the decommissioning files for these reactors, ASN will pay particular attention to the robustness of the graphite waste management strategy. During its examination of the modifications to the operating baseline requirements of EDF’s installations, ASN noted in 2023 that these documents were sometimes overly generic. ASN will thus be vigilant in ensuring that the specific aspects of each installation are taken into account in these baseline requirements. THE SPENT FUEL AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES With regard to its facilities in operation, EDF is carrying out numerous equipment upgrades in the Superphénix spent fuel storage unit (Apec), which is satisfactory. ASN is particularly attentive to implementation of EDF’s action plan for managing the obsolescence of certain equipment important for protection, adopting regular and joint monitoring with the licensee. Improvements are however required in waste management in the Activated waste conditioning and interim storage installation (Iceda). 22 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2023 ASN assessments
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