The Rapsodie Decommissioning Decree was signed on 9 April 2021. This Decree sets the perimeter of the facility and regulates, until 2030, the operations for treating the sodium from the reactor through to introducing air into the vessel containing it. An authorisation application file will be submitted to ASN for the reactor vessel washing operation. The subsequent decommissioning operations, such as decommissioning of the reactor block or of the civil engineering structures, shall be covered by an update of the decommissioning file. The decommissioning work continued during 2023 and consisted in characterising, repackaging and removing waste packages. The preparation for the treatment of the sodium still held in the facility, called “Recure Na”, requires renovation of the reactor building’s polar crane. To this end, the old trolleys have been removed to install a new trolley, and the crane has been requalified for a new maximum working load. Operation “Pétole”, which consists in placing in final shutdown status and removing the equipment involved in the dynamic containment of the cleaned-out hot cells, has started. The licensee submitted its periodic safety review guidance file at the end of December 2022. This file is currently being examined by ASN. The periodic safety review file is to be submitted in 2025. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety and radiation protection of this facility in 2023 is broadly satisfactory, particularly with regard to the management of waste and effluents and the decommissioning work. Solid Waste Treatment Station – CEA Centre BNI 37 of CEA Cadarache historically comprised the Active Effluents Treatment Station (STE) and the Waste Treatment Station (STD), grouped into a single installation. As the CEA wishes to ensure continued operation of the STD and proceed with the final shutdown of the STE, BNI 37 was divided into two BNIs: 37-A (STD) and 37-B (STE) by ASN resolutions CODEP-DRC-2015-027232 and CODEP-DRC-2015-027225 of 9 July 2015. These records were made further to the Orders of 9 June 2015 defining the perimeters of these two BNIs. At present, the STD is the CEA’s only civil BNI licensed for the packaging of intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste (ILW-LL) before it is stored in the Cedra facility (BNI 164) pending transfer to a deep geological repository. This situation makes the STD an indispensable part of the CEA’s decommissioning and waste management strategy. The continued operation of the STD is conditional on the performance of renovation work – particularly civil engineering works – prescribed by ASN Chairman’s resolution CODEPCLG-2016-015866 of 18 April 2016. ASN authorised these works on 20 January 2022. The CEA was unable to meet the prescribed work completion deadline in 2021, which has been pushed back to 30 June 2028. The work on this project (called “Pagode”) continued in 2023 with the commissioning of the Moderately Irradiating Package Transport Packagings (“ETCMI” in French) and the first civil engineering work. ASN considers that the level of safety of the facility is satisfactory on the whole, and more specifically as regards management of the emergency resources, the design-construction, and the monitoring of the condition of the systems, equipment and buildings, themes covered by three inspections in 2023. With regard to the follow-up of commitments, a theme that was also inspected in 2023, even if it will not be possible to meet the deadlines for some of the commitments, the schedule slippages seem to be under control and the reasons for them are relevant. ASN is also continuing the examination of the periodic safety review report submitted in 2022. Active Effluents Treatment Station – CEA centre The Active Effluents Treatment Station (STE – BNI 37-B) has been shut down since 1 January 2014. The CEA submitted the decommissioning file for this facility in December 2021. As part of the Decommissioning Preparation Operations (DECPROs), the licensee is continuing the video examinations of the tanks in order to characterise the substances still present and to determine the works required to ensure accessibility to the tanks in building 322. The characterisation work is a prerequisite for the deployment of processes, which do not yet exist, for treating these effluents. The state of safety of the storage tanks of building 322 and room 22A within building 321 must be improved pending their complete emptying. This action, resulting from the periodic safety review file, should also improve knowledge of the state of the facility, and will be put to good account in the decommissioning preparation operations. The licensee’s work has also enabled the study of the fire stability of building 321 to be refined. The discovery of contaminated stormwater, leading to the presence of artificial radionuclides outside the legacy contaminated zones already identified, continues to form the subject of significant event notifications to ASN, as it has since 2021. This situation persists despite the implementation of a stormwater management action plan, for which ASN is still waiting to receive formal assessment of the effectiveness from the licensee. In view of the successive contaminations, this action plan will continue and will be supplemented in 2024. In 2023, ASN carried out two inspections on the theme of waste and meeting commitments. Broadly speaking, the follow-up of the action plan resulting from the periodic safety review is satisfactory, as is waste management. ASN considers that the level of safety of BNI 37-B in 2023 remains broadly satisfactory. 90 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2023 Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection • PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D’AZUR •
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