The Caen division regulates nuclear safety, radiation protection and the transport of radioactive substances in the 5 départements of the Normandie region. Normandie Region In 2021, ASN carried out 212 inspections in Normandie, comprising 81 inspections in theNPPs of Flamanville, Paluel and Penly, 13 on the Flamanville 3 EPR reactor construction site, 64 on fuel cycle facilities, research facilities and facilities undergoing decommissioning, 48 in small-scale nuclear activities and 6 in the transport of radioactive substances. In addition to this, 31 days of labour inspectionwere carried out on theNPP sites and the Flamanville 3 construction site. In 2021, 18 significant events rated level 1 on the INES scale were reported to ASN. In the context of their oversight duties, the ASN inspectors issued one violation report. ASNalso served formal notice on two nuclear facility licensees to complywith the regulations. Flamanville nuclear power plant Operated by EDF and situated in the Manche département in the municipality of Flamanville, 25 km south-west of Cherbourg, the Flamanville NPP comprises two PWRs, each of 1,300 MWe commissioned in 1985 and 1986. Reactor 1 constitutes BNI 108 and reactor 2 BNI 109. ASN considers that the performance of the Flamanville NPP with regard to nuclear safety, despite the observed improvements, remains slightly below its general assessment of EDF plant performance. As far as radiation protection and the environment are concerned, ASN considers that the performance is in line with its general assessment of the EDF plants. ASN has observed improvements in nuclear safety resulting from implementation of the action plan requested as part of the tightened surveillance of the site. The inspections have more specif ically revealed several organisational changes, greater attention in the monitoring of the condition of the facilities, and greater compliance with the procedures and rules of good workmanship by the workers, which leads to an improvement in the operating results. Nevertheless, the diff iculties encountered when restarting reactor 1 following an outage to save fuel show that this progress must still be consolidated, particularly as concerns operational management of the reactors. Lastly, ASN notes that the time taken to characterise deviations after their detection must be shortened. With regard to emergency management, ASN served formal notice on EDF to comply with the applicable regulations relative to emergency situation preparedness and the on-site emergency plan. Following this decision, ASN checked the measures taken to comply with the regulations and considers them to be satisfactory, as the licensee is now capable of managing an emergency situation with partial deployment of the emergency response teams. ASN also considers that improvements must be made in the management and operation of the emergency response centre, which was the subject of several anomalies during the year. ASN notes that the situation in radiation protection is improving, more particularly with the reorganisation of the risk prevention department. Broadly speaking, the number of events concerning radiation protection reported in 2021 remains at the same level as in 2020, but with lower risks. Nevertheless, work site preparation and monitoring are still areas requiring attention in which ASN expects EDF to continue its efforts. In effect, numerous deviations are still detected due to failure to comply with work conditions and the conditions of access to controlled areas. ASN still considers that the preparation of operations involving high radiological risks must be improved. With regard to protection of the environment, ASN notes an improvement in the organisation and good command of the activities on the part of the personnel tasked with nuclear waste management. ASN will nevertheless remain attentive to the maintaining of the efforts to clear the backlog of legacy waste stored on the site, the continuation of the action plan to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas used for electrical isolation (SF6), and to the operational control of the conditions of discharge into the environment and monitoring of the discharges. ASN placed the Flamanville NPP under tightened surveillance in September 2019. In accordance with ASN’s request, EDF submitted a first assessment of the practices improvement plan in early 2021 along with a projection of the actions remaining to be accomplished over the year. During the year, ASN observed various changes in the organisational methods that led to improved results. A finalised assessment of all the improvement actions was also submitted to ASN at the end of 2021. This assessment will be examined by ASN and undergo specific checks in 2022 to decide whether to maintain tightened surveillance or not. 72 ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2021 REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION
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