ASN Report 2017

186 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 07  - International relations in Europe. They are also the documentary reference standards for the international audits overseen by the Agency. They in particular include the safety regulator audit missions (IRRS, Integrated Regulatory Review Service), along with OSART (Operational Safety Review Team) audits of nuclear power plants in operation. ASN also contributes actively to the MDEP (Multinational Design Evaluation Programme) the aim of which is to discuss and compare the experiences of safety regulators with regard to the evaluation of new reactors, including the EPR. This programme, started in 2006 by ASN and the American Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), currently brings together 16 safety Authorities and aims to develop innovative approaches for sharing the resources and knowledge of the safety regulators in charge of regulatory evaluation of new reactors, in order to contribute to the harmonisation of safety standards and their implementation. In the field of radiation protection, ASN monitors the progress of the work done by various international review forums such as UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) or ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection). ASN considers that through their publications, these entities contribute to improved understanding of exposure to ionising radiation and of health effects. They issue recommendations helping to improve the protection of exposed persons, whether patients in the medical sector or specific categories of workers. 2. Relations within Europe European harmonisation of nuclear safety and radiation protection principles and standards has always been a priority for ASN. In this context, ASN participates actively in exchanges between the national nuclear safety and radiation protection authorities of the Member States. 2.1 The EURATOM Treaty The Treaty creating the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) was signed on 25th March 1957 and constitutes the primary law in the field. It has allowed the harmonised development of a strict oversight system for nuclear safety (see chapter 7 of the Treaty) and radiation protection (see chapter 3 of the Treaty). In an Order of 10th December 2002 (Case C-29/99 Commission of European Communities versus EU Council), the EU Court of Justice, ruling that no artificial boundary could be created between radiation protection and nuclear safety, recognised the principle of the existence of Community competence in the field of safety, as in the field of management of radioactive waste and spent fuel. 2.2 European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) ASN chairs the work of ENSREG, which supports the European Commission’s European legislation initiatives. ENSREG is supported by three working groups, devoted to installations safety (WG1), the safe management of radioactive wastes and spent fuels (WG2) and transparency in the nuclear field (WG3) respectively. A fourth group (WG4) dealing with international cooperation was restored to the mandate of WG1 and more specifically focuses on the European Commission’s Instruments for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) (evaluation and programming). ENSREG and the European Commission created the stress tests initiative for the European NPPs, organised in 2012 in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. A further exercise to follow up the recommendations of the stress tests was carried out in 2015. ASN sent ENSREG its updated action plan, as did the other Member States. ENSREG is also organising the first peer review of ageing management for power reactors and research reactors with a power of greater than 1 MWth. Each of the 19 countries taking part in this review is thus in charge of drafting a national report devoted to an assessment of ageing management for the reactors concerned. The closure date for on-line publication of this report on the ENSREG website was set at the end of December 2017. The first meeting devoted to the topical peer review will be held from 14th to 18th May 2018 in Luxembourg, while the second – to present the conclusions, including to the stakeholders – will be on 6th and 7th June 2018. In 2017, ASN chaired the steering committee for the 4th ENSREG conference, a two-yearly event held in June in Brussels. This conference was an opportunity to bring all the stakeholders together (licensees, industry, NGOs, European Commission, Member States) around the European nuclear FUNDAMENTALS Extensive sharing of operating experience feedback: manufacturing anomaly in nuclear reactor components Within its various circles of cooperation, ASN aims to benefit from the operating experience feedback of its counterparts and also share its own. As of mid-2015, ASN began discussions with its counterparts on a bilateral and multilateral (MDEP) basis concerning the anomalies found in the composition of the steel in the centre of the Flamanville EPR reactor pressure vessel closure head and bottom head. This analysis of manufacturing anomalies was at the same time extended to the fleet in service and revealed the presence of positive carbon macrosegregations in some of its components. As of the autumn of 2016, ASN met its main counterparts whose NPP fleets could be affected by similar anomalies. It also presented this subject at a plenary meeting of the WENRA association and the 7th review meeting of the contracting parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety. At the plenary meeting of WENRA in April 2017, ASN was tasked with setting up an ad hoc group to define coordinated measures for checking large components and making changes to the manufacturing codes.