ASN Report 2017

232 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 08  - Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection HAUTS-DE-FRANCE With regard to environmental protection, the compliance work on the tanks for storing effluents from the reactor primary and secondary cooling systems was completed at the end of 2017. The site must continue to improve the environmental conformity of its facilities with the licenses delivered by ASN. On 19th October 2017 ASN issued a resolution governing the use of certain devices for discharging liquid effluents into the environment, for which the site had been found noncompliant during an inspection. Concerning management of the fire risk, ASN considers that the site must improve the quality of storage areas and fire sectorisation, particularly during reactor maintenance operations, even though there were no significant fire outbreaks in 2017. With regard to radiation protection, ASN continues to note shortcomings in the access control of some areas presenting risks of radiological exposure. Progress is required in particular in the training of security agents in the interpretation of radiation portal monitor activation parameters at the exit from controlled zones, and in improving the process for dealing with any potentially contaminated worker. On 19th October 2017, ASN issued a resolution imposing requirements relative to the continued operation of reactor 3. Labour inspection in the Gravelines nuclear power plant ASN carried out 14 days of labour inspection duties at the NPP. ASN remains attentive to worker compliance with the safety rules. The labour inspectors investigated two severe accidents which occurred at the year end and three near-accidents on the worksite of the ultimate backup diesel generator sets. Société de Maintenance Nucléaire (Somanu) in Maubeuge ASN considers that operation of Somanu’s facilities is satisfactory on the whole. Somanu maintained a good standard of operating performance in 2017. However, given the many technical, regulatory and organisational challenges facing Somanu, the ongoing efforts will have to be maintained over the long term. The performance in radiation protection was maintained at the level of the previous year. ASN asks that the efforts be maintained, particularly in the management of radioactive waste, in order to optimise the doses received by the operators responsible for sorting the waste and putting it into drums. With regard to the environment, the licensee places great importance on controlling the environmental impact of its facilities. It has produced instructions to follow in the event of pollution; the operators however are not always familiar with the instructions and the required resources are not always available near the potentially impacted areas. The actions relating to the periodic safety review are continuing and will require Somanu to maintain its efforts in this respect in the coming years. Examination of the creation authorisation decree modification file and of the modification request concerning the associated discharge resolutions has, since 2016, given rise to several technical discussions between the licensee, ASN and its technical support agency IRSN. Complementary studies should allow the files to be updated so that ASN can set requirements that are appropriate for the facilities’ risk issues. 1.2 Radiation protection in the medical field Radiotherapy The Hauts-de-France region counts 19 external-beam radiotherapy departments and 3 brachytherapy departments under ASN oversight. These departments use 46 linear accelerators (including 2 contact radiotherapy machines), most of which are recent. Some of these centres use innovative techniques, more specifically with three CyberKnife ® robotic radiosurgery machines (a fourth machine will enter service in early 2018 and a project for a fifth machine is envisaged for the end of the year). In addition, the GammaKnife ® system (multiple-source machine) in service at the Lille CHRU (Regional University Hospital) since 2001 is currently being replaced. ASN carried out fifteen inspections in the radiotherapy centres in 2017 to check the radiation protection of patients and workers. The inspections focused on examining the quality policy and management, through processes such as prospective risk management, management of the analysis of adverse events or the implementation of new techniques and change management. With regard to brachytherapy (on inspection in 2017), the additional subjects of source management and emergency situation management were addressed. These inspections also provided a better understanding of the functioning of certain centres with a group structure which have pooled their resources; this situation made it easier to help teams embrace new techniques. Five inspections were conducted to verify the presence of the required minimum contingent of personnel during radiotherapy treatments at particular times of the day (early morning, mid-day break and late afternoon) and the measures taken for the forecast vacation periods. None of the inspections revealed any deviations. In 2017, as in 2016, ASN’s findings were mixed regarding the development of the process of continuous improvement in practices in which the centres have been engaged for the last few years. Further to human or organisational changes, several centres have to upgrade their quality management system and the associated coordination tools. ASN still notes disparities between the centres in the region and a lack of consistency over time. This situation moreover resulted in tightened monitoring (inspection frequency higher than the national average between  2016 and  2018) of 10 centres in the region. The procedure for collecting and analysing adverse events is generally in place. ASN nevertheless observes, as in the preceding two years, a loss of momentum in the recording and analysis of adverse and precursory events. At the same time, the number of significant radiation protection event notifications remains relatively low and involves the personnel to different extents. Furthermore, monitoring of the action plans resulting from these analyses can generally be improved. These analyses are effectively often limited to the human causes without working back to the organisational causes.