operation and conduct new activities in it. An action plan with a schedule for this industrial and strategic change of direction was submitted to ASN on 28 January 2022. The forthcoming periodic safety reviewmust integrate this change of strategy. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety and radiation protection of the facility in 2021 is broadly satisfactory, particularly as regards meeting commitments and external hazards. ASN has nevertheless found a need for improvements in the conformity and integrity of the piezometers of the water table verification system. Chicade laboratory – CEA centre Since 1993, the Chicade facility (BNI 156) has been conducting research and development work on low and intermediatelevel objects and waste, chiefly involving: • the destructive and non-destructive characterisation of radioactive objects, waste sample packages and irradiating objects; • the development and qualif ication of nuclear measurement systems; • the development and implementation of chemical and radiochemical analysis methods; • the expert assessment and inspection of waste packages packaged by the waste producers. On the basis of the inspections carried out in 2021, ASN considers that the facility broadly meets its commitments, ensures good traceability of its modif ications, and that the action plan following the conclusions of the safety review is progressing. Improvements are required in the collection of radioactive waste and the management of the radioactive samples produced by the facility. With regard to environmental protection, the CEA has undertaken to submit, by the end of 2022, a request to modify the facility’s DAC, to take into account gaseous discharges of tritium, not provided for in its current baseline requirements. Cedra storage facility – CEA centre Since 2006, the Cedra facility (BNI 164) is used to store ILW-LL waste pending the creation of appropriate disposal routes. The CEA forecasts that this facility will be f illed to capacity by 2027. The studies concerning a project to double the storage capacity began in 2020. ASN considers that the main steps of this project need to be better def ined and that CEA must look ahead to all the procedures in order to have the necessary storage capacities for overall management of its waste. The CEA put the package examination unit into operation in 2021. This allows the inspection of packages and the overpacking of any damaged or contaminated packages. ASN considers that the licensee’s verif ications for package acceptance in the Cedra facility, the management of modifications and the meeting of its commitments are satisfactory on the whole. The year 2021 was marked by the reporting of significant events of level 1 concerning: • exceeding of the authorised mass of f issile material in a package stored in the BNI, further to an error in the composition of a waste package in the producing facility; • the fall of a waste package, an event that has already occurred several times on the Cadarache site, in BNI 37-A and BNI 56. ASN considers that the licensee must draw all the necessary conclusions f rom these events, particularly regarding integration of the feedback f rom preceding events, the monitoring of waste producers and management of the interfaces between the various people likely to use the transport packages. One signif icant event concerning damage to the metallic casing of a package was also reported by the facility. ASN has asked the CEA to conduct the necessary expert assessments to determine the cause and mechanism of the damage to this package. Magenta storage warehouse – CEA centre The Magenta facility (BNI 169), which replaces the MCMF currently being decommissioned, has been dedicated since 2011 to the storage of non-irradiated fissile material and the non-destructive characterisation of the nuclear materials received. The licensee submitted its safety review conclusion report in February 2021. ASN has started the examination of this f ile and will focus in particular on the impact that pushing back glove box commissioning has on the maintenance operations of certain primary material containers. One signif icant event rated level 1 on the INES scale was reported to ASN on 5 February 2021. This event concerned the unauthorised storage of material in the form of a uranium/ aluminium alloy in one of the facility’s storage blocks. The licensee is currently deploying corrective measures to prevent the causes of such events. In the interim, the storage block in question has been padlocked. ASN considers that the operational management of the facility in 2021 is generally satisfactory. Effluent advanced management and processing facility – CEA centre The Effluent Advanced Management and Processing Facility (Agate –BNI 171), commissioned in 2014 to replace BNI 37-B which is now shut down, uses an evaporation process to concentrate radioactive liquid effluents containing mainly beta- and gamma-emitting radionuclides. ASN considers that the licensee’s verif ications for the acceptance of effluents in the facility and the meeting of the commitments it has taken are on the whole satisfactory in the Agate facility. The evaporator has been out of service since December 2020 following a failure on the superheated ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2021 95 REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D’AZUR
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