continued decommissioning the Chinon A3 heat exchangers; decommissioning the South Heat Exchangers room is finished and all the cylinders have been transferred to the Industrial centre for grouping, storage and disposal (Cires). ASN considers that the level of safety of the Chinon nuclear installations undergoing decommissioning (Chinon A1, A2 and A3) is satisfactory. The inspections carried out in 2021 revealed in particular good emergency management in an on-site exercise situation, and good tracking of the inspections of fire-related equipment. This being said, improvements are expected in the knowledge of the premises and the equipment on the part of the personnel attached to the in-service NPP who might have to intervene in the facilities undergoing decommissioning. “NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE” FACILITIES Inter-Regional Fuel Warehouse Commissioned in 1978, the Chinon Inter-Regional Fuel Warehouse (MIR) is a facility for storing f resh fuel assemblies pending their utilisation in various EDF reactors. It constitutes BNI 99. Along with the Bugey MIR, it contributes to the management of flows of fuel assembly supplies for the reactors. The facility has been operating nominally since the reception and storage of fresh fuel assemblies resumed in 2020, in a conf iguration in which the facility was equipped with a new handling crane in 2019 and under an updated baseline authorised by ASN. RESEARCH FACILITIES UNDERGOING DECOMMISSIONING Irradiated Materials Facility The Irradiated Materials Facility (AMI), which was declared and commissioned in 1964, is situated on the Chinon nuclear site and operated by EDF. This facility (BNI 94) has stopped operating and is being decommissioned. It was primarily intended for performing examinations and expert assessments on activated or contaminated materials from the PWRs. The analysis and expert assessment activities were entirely transferred in 2015 to a new facility on the site, the Ceidre integrated laboratory (Lidec). Decree 2020-499 for AMI decommissioning was published on 30 April 2020 and the new RGEs were approved by ASN in April 2021, thereby enabling the Decree to enter into application. The legacy waste treatment and removal activities continued in 2021. The legacy magnesian waste has been packaged and recharacterised. The characterisation results were not as expected, making it necessary to apply to the French national agency for radioactive waste management (Andra), for a waiver to allow acceptance of the waste. The waste removal work was therefore stopped pending the outcome of this procedure. ASN considers that the management of the periodic inspections and tests, particularly those concerning the fire risk, is satisfactory. Particular attention must nevertheless be paid to tracking of the fire door inspections and monitoring of the ageing of the facility’s civil engineering structures. SAINT‑LAURENT‑DES‑EAUX SITE The Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux site, situated on the banks of the river Loire in the municipality of Saint‑Laurent‑Nouan in the Loir‑et‑Cher département, comprises various nuclear installations, some of them in operation and others undergoing decommissioning. The Saint‑Laurent‑desEaux NPP comprises two operating reactors, B1 and B2, which were commissioned in 1980 and 1981, and constitute BNI 100. The site also features two old GCRs, A1 and A2, currently in the decommissioning phase, and two silos for storing the graphite sleeves from the operation of reactors A1 and A2. Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux nuclear power plant Reactors B1 and B2 in operation ASN considers that the performance of the Saint-Laurentdes-Eaux NPP with regard to radiation protection is in line with its general assessment of the EDF plants, and stands out positively for the environment. The performance in the area of safety, however, has deteriorated. In the middle of the year site senior management presented a reactive action plan, whose effect will be checked by ASN in 2022, particularly during the site in-depth inspection. ASN considers that the site’s nuclear safety performance deteriorated in 2021 and is inadequate. The safety management plan put in place in 2020 has not restored the expected level of performance. Numerous events have revealed a lack of both safety culture and a questioning attitude on the part of the workers, deviations in the handling of anomalies and conformity deviations in particular, as well as shortcomings in the integration of experience feedback, in the quality of the documentation and in the monitoring of work performance. ASN nevertheless underlines the good overall upkeep of the worksites and satisfactory apparent condition of the inspected equipment. It does however expect to see significant improvements on the part of the licensee in 2022. Generally speaking, the management of radiation protection at the Saint‑Laurent‑des‑Eaux NPP meets ASN expectations. The site’s performance is considered stable compared with 2020, even if organisational improvements are required, particularly through the setting up of the radiation protection skills centre, which will take place in 2022. The site’s organisation to meet the regulatory environmental protection requirements is considered highly successful, particularly in view of the quantities of effluents discharged. ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2021 55 REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION CENTRE-VAL DE LOIRE
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