MAINTAINING A HIGH LEVEL OF OVERSIGHT Throughout the year 2023, the ASN teams remained fully mobilised in the performance of their duties to protect people and the environment. They maintained both the level of rigour and the level of oversight, while adapting priorities. ASN identifies and reassesses its regulation and oversight priorities on the basis of the challenges defined on the one hand by the risks for people and the environment inherent in nuclear activities and, on the other, by the behaviour of those in charge of the activities, in particular through the means they deploy to manage these risks. The following example illustrates this point. The present context of the nuclear industry is characterised by pressure on the energy markets, by the need for investment in infrastructure and thus large-scale financing, and by the fact that the nuclear sector needs to further consolidate its ability to support the needed revival process. This context is a challenge for the licensees and industrial firms, with the resulting increased risk regarding the quality of project performance. • 03 • Editorial by the Director General The lessons learned from the building of the Flamanville EPR also highlighted these construction quality issues. To address this situation, ASN has in recent years reinforced its oversight of the procurement chain for equipment intended for nuclear facilities: 53 inspections were thus performed on this topic in 2023. These inspections will be increased in the coming years, to keep pace with the development of new nuclear projects. HANDLING A GROWING WORKLOAD The nuclear sector revival is resulting in an increasing number of new projects on which ASN must adopt a stance, with the support of the IRSN, as well as in the appearance of new players. Examination of the creation authorisation applications for the three pairs of EPR 2 planned for Penly, Gravelines and Bugey, monitoring of the manufacture of their large components (reactor vessel, steam generators, piping, etc.) and then oversight of the corresponding worksites will thus gradually increase ASN’s workload in the coming years. To this can be added the projects to replace or expand the fuel fabrication and reprocessing plants, as well as the technical questions raised by the continued operation of the existing installations and the corresponding periodic safety reviews. Finally, technical dialogue with the sponsors of AMR projects, some of which include projects for specific fuel plants, is intensifying and will continue to do so in the coming years. This will demand far more resources than are currently available. ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2023 9 Olivier GUPTA
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