News releases

On Wednesday, 25 May, the Chairman of ENSREG, Andrej Stritar, accompanied by EU Energy Commissioner Günter Oettinger, announced that an agreement had been reached between the Nuclear Safety Regulators of the 27 EU Member States and the Commission with regard to stress tests for European nuclear power plants. These audits can be officially launched as of 1 June 2011.

To estimate radioactivity levels across French territory following releases from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, ASN asked operators[1] to demonstrate particular vigilance regarding the results of measurements made and to step up monitoring. Additional analyses were requested by ASN on 22 March 2011 relative to monitoring the air, entailing measuring the radioactivity levels of aerosols and gaseous iodines.

Following its examination of the “Fuel Cycle” file, ASN has asked EDF, in a letter dated 9 May 2011, to produce a full analysis of sensitivity and uncertainties relating to nuclear fuel management within a year and to update this analysis every two years; ASN has also asked EDF to submit to it a new update of the “French Fuel Cycle” file in 2016. Further requests have also been made regarding technical aspects of management of and developments in new fuels, as well as storing spent fuel.

ASN believes that it is essential to learn from the accident which occurred at Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant, as it has been undertaken after the Three Mile Island and the Chernobyl accidents.

The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) is organising, with the support of the French Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices (OPECST), an international seminar on post nuclear accidents, i.e., managing the consequences of a nuclear accident.

In November 2010, AREVA NP detected defects in several nozzle penetration* welds during its regulatory manufacturing inspections of the Flamanville 3 EPR reactor vessel head.

ASN believes that it is essential to learn from the recent accident in Japan, in the same way as after the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents. The acquisition of in-depth feedback will involve a long process stretching over several years. Some lessons, however, can already be learned.

ASN oversees occupational health and safety inspection at French nuclear power plants [1]. It provides coordinated oversight of the health, safety, working conditions and quality of employment of EDF employees, as well as those of EDF service providers and subcontractors, just as it does for nuclear safety at facilities. This activity covers the construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants [2].

ASN believes that it is essential to learn from the recent accident in Japan, in the same way as after the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents. The acquisition of in-depth feedback will involve a long process stretching over several years.

As requested by the Minister of Energy, ASN issued its opinion on the reports submitted by nuclear operators mid 2010, in accordance with Article 20 of Programme Act No. 2006-739 of 28 June 2006 on the sustainable management of radioactive materials and waste [1].

ASN presented its report on nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2010 at a hearing of OPECST, the French Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technical Choices, on Wednesday 30 March 2011. The hearing provided an opportunity to pass on information to members of parliament and the press.

On 30 March 2011, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, accompanied by Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, France's Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, went to Japan to meet Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, and convey a message of solidarity from the French people following the dramatic events of 11 March.

The ASN Commission received a Japan Nuclear Technology Institute delegation on 29 March 2011.

On 23 March 2011, French Prime Minister, François Fillon, asked ASN, under Article 8 of the Nuclear Security and Transparency Act, to conduct an additional safety audit at every nuclear facility in France, in light of current events at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant.

A week after its deliberation issued on March 14, 2011, the Commission of the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has devoted its meeting on Monday, March 21, 2011 to the accident that occurred at Fukushima- and to initiate thinking about actions to be launched.

The ASN Commission renews its expression of sympathy to the Japanese people on the occasion of the national drama it undergoes. In particular, the ASN Commission praises the courageous efforts of people intervening on Fukushima nuclear power plants.

The nuclear crisis in Japan is still far from finished. The whole ASN staff remains mobilized. Its emergency centre is activated 24h/24h since Friday, March 11, 2011. The media and the public are regularly informed. ASN remains in direct contact with the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) and in permanent relationship with the Government, the Embassy of France in Japan, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). ASN also regularly consults its foreign counterparts.