ASN considers that the level of safety of BNI 52 (ATUe) in 2023 is satisfactory on the whole. Most of the actions stemming from the periodic safety review of 2017 have been completed, with the exception of the roof sealing work, the completion of which is pushed back to the end of 2025. Central Fissile Material Warehouse – CEA centre Created in 1968, the Central Fissile Material Warehouse (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. The examination of the decommissioning file ended in 2023. The MSNR submitted the facility’s draft decommissioning decree to ASN and consulted the licensee, with the aim of publishing this decree in 2024. The licensee must also submit its next periodic safety review report to ASN before the end of December 2024. ASN considers that the DECPROs continued satisfactorily in 2023. The main operations carried out by the licensee were complementary radiological characterisations and removals of equipment and waste. High-Activity Laboratory LECA-STAR – CEA centre BNI 55 combines the Active Fuel Examination Laboratory (LECA) and its extension, the Treatment, Clean-out and Reconditioning Station (STAR). These two units constitute the CEA’s expert assessment tools for analysing irradiated fuels. Commissioned in 1964, the LECA laboratory enables the CEA to carry out destructive and non-destructive examinations of spent fuel from the nuclear power, research and naval propulsion sectors. As the facility is old, it was partially reinforced in the early 2010’s to improve its earthquake resistance. The guidance file (DOR) for the next periodic safety review of LECA was submitted by the CEA in January 2022. The examination of this file led ASN to request additional information concerning the conformity check and the re-assessment of the control of risks and drawbacks. In the context of continued operation of LECA and in compliance with the technical requirements set by the resolution of 10 July 2020 on the completion of the LECA reinforcement works to guarantee that the shielded cells would not be damaged by the main building in the event of an earthquake, the CEA submitted modification requests to ASN and these are currently being examined. Commissioned in 1999, the STAR facility is an extension of the LECA laboratory, designed for the stabilisation and reconditioning of spent fuel. ASN is currently finalising its examination of the STAR periodic safety review report submitted in 2018. In 2023, the CEA reported one significant event involving a load falling onto a fire door situated in the fire sector containing the STAR shielded cells. The damage to the door called into question its two-hour fire-resistance qualification. This event was examined as part of an inspection and was rated level 1 on the INES scale, essentially because of a safety culture deficiency in the way the deviation was addressed. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety of the LECA-STAR facility in 2023 is broadly satisfactory, particularly with regard to the prevention of criticality risk and meeting the commitments made in the context of the LECA and STAR periodic safety reviews. Solid radioactive waste storage area – CEA centre BNI 56, declared in January 1968 for the disposal of waste, is used for storing legacy solid radioactive waste from the Cadarache centre. It comprises three pools, six pits, five trenches and hangars, which contain in particular ILW-LL waste from the operation or decommissioning of CEA facilities. BNI 56 is one of the priorities identified by the CEA in its new decommissioning and waste management strategy. Examination of the facility decommissioning file, which was submitted in 2018, continued in 2023. A meeting of the Advisory Committee of Experts for Decommissioning (GPDEM) to discuss this file is scheduled in April 2024. The CEA continued its Waste Retrieval and Conditioning (WRC) operations in the BNI in accordance with the schedule presented at the start of the year. The video inspections of pit 1 began. Clean-out work has also been carried out on the extraction cell of trench T2. ASN considers that the nuclear safety of the facility in 2023 is broadly satisfactory with regard to static and dynamic containment, as is the condition of the systems, themes checked during inspections. ASN has more specifically observed improvements in the tracking and traceability of the modification work procedures. ASN will nevertheless be extremely attentive to compliance with the new deadlines set for retrieval of the stainless steel intermediate level waste packages from pit 6, and to the management of the BNI’s stormwater. Phébus research reactor – CEA centre The Phébus reactor (BNI 92) is an experimental pool-type reactor with a power rating of 38 Megawatts thermal (MWth) which functioned from 1978 to 2007. Phébus was designed for the study of serious accidents affecting light water reactors and for defining operating procedures to prevent core melt-down or to mitigate its consequences. In 2023, ASN finalised the examination of the decommissioning and periodic safety review files, submitted in 2018 and 2017 respectively. 92 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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