ASN Report 2017

104 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 03  - Regulations These provisions significantly reinforce the Community framework for oversight of the safety of nuclear facilities (see chapter  7, point 2.3). For those which require legislative weight, transposition is ensured by Articles L. 591-2 and L. 591-6 to L. 591-8 of the Environment Code, resulting from the Ordinance of 10th February 2016 constituting various nuclear provisions, issued on the basis of the authorisation given in the TECV Act. Directive of 19th July 2011 establishing a European community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19th July 2011 establishes a European Community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. It applies to the management of spent fuel and the management of radioactive waste, from production to disposal, when this waste is the result of civil activities. Like the Euratom Directive of 25th June 2009, it calls for each Member State to set up a coherent and appropriate national framework and FUNDAMENTALS The regulation of subcontracting Article L. 593-6-1 of the Environment Code, created by the TECV Act, stipulates that “owing to the particular importance of certain activities for the protection of the interests mentioned in Article L. 593-1 of the Environment Code, a decree of the Council of State may regulate or limit their performance by contractors or subcontractors“ and that “the licensee shall monitor activities important for the protection of the interests mentioned in the same Article L. 593-1 when they are performed by outside contractors. It shall ensure that these outside contractors have appropriate technical expertise for the performance of said activities. It may not delegate this monitoring action to a contractor.” Decree 2016-846 of 28th June 2016 concerning the modification, final shutdown and decommissioning of BNIs and subcontracting clarified these provisions. The principle whereby the licensee of a BNI is effectively responsible for its operation entails a ban on entrusting operational responsibility and oversight of the operation of a BNI to an outside contractor, including with regard to the handling of accidents, incidents and deviations, as well as preparedness for and management of emergency situations. This Decree also specifies the conditions in which a BNI licensee may call on outside contractors for the performance of Activities Important for the Protection (AIP) of the interests mentioned in Article L. 593-1 of the Environment Code (public health and safety, protection of nature and the environment). The principle of the text is that the licensee must limit the number of subcontracting tiers as far as possible. This principle applies to all the phases in the life of a BNI, including during its construction. The need to resort to subcontracting shall be assessed in the light of the need for specific and exceptional skills. In any case, the licensee shall retain the ability to manage the subcontracted activities. In its general operating rules, it shall describe the methods used to monitor the outside contractors. The text also introduces a condition limiting to three the total number of successive subcontracting tiers, with the licensee’s contractor being able to call on no more than two successive subcontractors. There are however the following two possibilities for a waiver to this limitation, provided that the licensee presents sufficient justifications: ཛྷ ཛྷ In the case of an unforeseeable event affecting the conditions of performance of the activity or requiring specific operations, the licensee must inform ASN beforehand and give the relevant reasons. ཛྷ ཛྷ When the use of an outside contractor or of more than two tiers of subcontractors ensures better protection of the protected interests, ASN may, at the request of the licensee, issue a waiver giving full reasons. The limitation rule applies as of commissioning of the BNI and runs until delicensing, for all provision of services or works important for the protection of interests and performed within the perimeter of the BNI. It should be noted that simple compliance with the limit on the number of subcontracting tiers is not in itself sufficient justification that all attempts have been made to limit the number of subcontracting tiers as far as is possible. In any case, the licensee shall monitor the AIP performed by outside contractors. To this end, it shall collect information from them, in particular for the purposes of operating experience feedback. When a licensee intends to entrust the performance of an AIP to an outside contractor, it shall assess the proposals taking account of criteria giving priority to the protection of the above-mentioned interests; it shall first of all ensure that the companies it intends to call on have the technical capability to carry out the work and are able to manage the corresponding risks. Finally, the licensee shall notify the outside contractors of the document containing its policy with regard to the protection of interests. The contract with the outside contractors shall specify the obligations necessary for application of the provisions of the BNI regulations incumbent upon each of the parties. These provisions are now applicable to contracts following a call for tenders published after 1st January 2017.