- 35 - This essentially documentary topic appeared to be well managed by the NPPs. Its operational implementation is dealt with later on in the "Operational management of accident situations" section. 2.3.7 Maintenance, servicing and availability of equipment, upkeep of premises Some of the heat sink equipment is classified as "important for safety" and in this respect should be subject to required periodic testing to ensure that it is available. Independently of this classification, this and other equipment must be covered by a maintenance programme to ensure that it is kept in good working order. The inspectors discovered that on most of the sites, there were maintenance or periodic test anomalies. These discrepancies are not all serious and are not generalised, but do clearly show that efforts are needed in this area. At Le Blayais and Penly for instance, a delay in integrating certain maintenance requirements was remarked upon. Another example was when the inspectors identified 8-yearly maintenance operations to be carried out on the Saint-Alban trash rake which had not been carried out as at the date of the inspection (standard replacement of the motorised hydraulic pump, standard replacement of the hydraulic lifting motor and standard replacement of the two hydraulic translation motors), periodic tests that were unsatisfactory but not repeated on the drum screen sensors (CFI, circulating water filtration system), or health check-ups on "critical" equipment such as the circulating water system (CRF) or the essential service water system (SEC), and on "important" equipment such as the containment spray system (EAS) and the raw water system (SEB) which had not yet been carried out on sites using the new maintenance methodology referred to as AP 913 (Bugey, Paluel for instance). On the whole, generalised use of this preventive maintenance methodology should encourage the licensee to enhance its vigilance with regard to monitoring of heat sink equipment. With regard to the condition of the structures and equipment, ASN's assessment is once again contrasted. On the whole, ASN observed a clear improvement in the condition of the equipment and the cleanliness of the premises when compared with the 2007 inspection campaign. It must be remembered that the atmosphere in the pumping rooms is particularly corrosive, especially on the coastal sites. The improvement is significant for those sites applying the O2EI (obtaining exemplary conditions in the facilities) approach in the pumping rooms. Even though the overall impression is good, the inspectors listed a number of equipment and structure anomalies resulting from the lack of corrective action. On half of the sites visited, the inspectors found signs of water infiltration in the pumping rooms, traces of advanced corrosion on the equipment (SEC and SEI lines especially, sometimes even on the pumps), or significant leaks from the SEC, CRF or CFI pumps, located at the packing glands, flanges and vents. The lighting in the premises visited appeared to be deficient on some sites, making the interventions more difficult. On several occasions the inspectors observed intervention requests that had not been processed as of the date of the inspection, thus exceeding the recommended times (Civaux, Flamanville among others). The premises are cleaner, but the condition of the equipment could still be improved. The SEC piping attracted the attention of the inspectors in two particular cases. At Paluel, additional investigations carried out in 2011 revealed that certain segments require particularly close monitoring and that a localised defect required repair. This complementary investigative approach, which is considered to be a good practice, was not a part of any maintenance programme and consequently leads to no systematic corrective action. At the Gravelines NPP, corroded or nonconforming anchors compromised the seismic resistance of the SEC system filter supports, leading to conformity repair work in accordance with the ASN request. This system would therefore seem to require appropriate vigilance on the part of the licensee, especially for coastal sites. Finally, at Civaux, Flamanville and Paluel among others, the inspectors found that there was no local maintenance programme for the SEC system and that periodic maintenance was carried out on the basis of the national maintenance programmes. To conclude, significant progress has been achieved since 2007 and the general condition of the facilities is good, but could be better.
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