News archives

All the latest news from the French Nuclear Safety Authority from 28 February 1999 to 2 January 2025.
The latest news from the French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR) is now published on the www.asnr.fr website.

479 news

Published on 30/01/2020 at 16:20

ASN New Year’s greetings to the press

The ASN Chairman recalled that 2019 had been a dense year, marked by serious subjects which will determine the nuclear safety and radiation protection actions for 2020:

Published on 27/12/2019 at 10:39

Reactor 2 of the Penly NPP: a significant safety event rated level 2 on the INES scale

On 18 December 2019, EDF reported a significant safety event relating to defective electrical components which put the backup systems of the Penly NPP reactor 2 out of service.
The equipment ensuring the safety of each NPP reactor is supplied with electrical power via two redundant electrical panels (channels A and B). These electrical panels supply power to the motors that actuate the valves and pumps of the backup systems and the reactor instrumentation and control panels.

Published on 24/12/2019 at 11:20

Generic phase of the fourth periodic safety reviews of the 1300 MWe reactors

On 11 December 2019, ASN issued a position statement on the orientations of the generic phase of the fourth periodic safety review of EDF’s 1300 MWe nuclear reactors. ASN considers that the general objectives set by EDF for this review are acceptable in principle. However, it asks EDF to modify or supplement these general objectives for this safety review, to consider certain baseline requirements for reassessment of the safety of its facilities and to add study topics to its review programme. The requests made by ASN are to a large extent based on those made in 2016 for the fourth periodic safety review of the 900 MWe reactors.

Published on 23/12/2019 at 14:37

ASN takes stock of the earthquake resistance of the French nuclear power plants

In the wake of the Teil earthquake of 11 November 2019, ASN takes stock of the earthquake resistance of the French nuclear power plants. Earthquakes form part of the natural risks that nuclear facilities must be able to withstand. Seismic protection measures are taken at the installation design stage and reviewed every ten years during the periodic safety reviews to take account of developments in knowledge and changes in regulations.

Published on 20/12/2019 at 12:13

Teil earthquake of 11 November 2011

In the wake of the Teil earthquake of 11 November 2019, ASN takes stock of the earthquake resistance of the French nuclear power plants

Published on 14/11/2019 at 17:54

Consequences of the earthquake in the Rhone valley

On 11 November 2019, at about 12h, an earthquake struck the Rhone valley. ASN mobilised its personnel to conduct a review with all the licensees operating nuclear facilities in the region. It contacted the national and local public authorities, more particularly the Prefect’s offices of the Drôme and Ardèche départements.

Published on 06/11/2019 at 10:00

Olivier Gupta is elected Chair of WENRA

Olivier Gupta, ASN Director General, has just been elected Chair of WENRA (Western European Nuclear Regulators’ Association ) , by his European peers. He will be assisted by two Vice-Chairs, Petteri Tiippana, Director General of the Finnish nuclear regulator, and Mark Foy, Chief Inspector of the United Kingdom's Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR).

Published on 29/10/2019 at 12:48

Manufacturing deviation at Framatome stress-relieving heat treatment of welds

On 9th September 2019, EDF informed ASN of a deviation concerning the manufacture of nuclear pressure equipment installed in its reactors, and primarily steam generators. During the stress-relieving heat treatment applied to the welds made to assemble nuclear pressure equipment components, the required temperature range has not been respected over the entire area to treat.

Published on 22/10/2019 at 12:56

IAEA General Conference in Vienna (Austria)

Bernard Doroszczuk, ASN Chairman, and several members of the ASN Commission and Director General’s office, took part in various meetings with the heads of the nuclear safety regulators organised in Vienna from 16 to 20 September 2019, in the margins of the IAEA General Conference.

Published on 11/10/2019 at 15:28

Public dialogue on improving the safety of French 900 MWe nuclear reactors

From 6 September 2018 to 31 March 2019, in accordance with its mission, France’s High Committee for Transparency and Information on Nuclear Security (HCTISN) organized a public dialogue on improving the safety of the 900 MWe reactors of the French nuclear fleet in the framework of their 4th periodic safety review*. Support was provided by the main players in nuclear power plant safety : EDF, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), and the National Association of Local Information Committees and Commissions (ANCCLI).

Published on 20/09/2019 at 14:56

Bituminous nuclear waste packages

Nearly 80,000 packages of nuclear waste have been processed by bituminisation since 1966. 50,000 of these bituminous waste packages are in principle to be disposed of in the Cigéo project facility.