ASN Report 2017

244 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 NORMANDIE 1.4 Radiation protection of the public and the environment Contaminated sites and soils InMarch 2013workwas undertaken jointly by Andra and by the EPF (Public Land-management Corporation) of Normandie to complete the decontamination and to rehabilitate the industrial site of Établissements Bayard , situated in Saint-Nicolas d’Aliermont. Établissements Bayard was specialised in theproductionof pendulum clocks and alarm clocks. From 1949 until the workshops closed in 1989, the site produced and used luminescent paint based first on radium-226, then on tritium. ASN has assisted the Dreal (Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing) of Normandie in the monitoring of the rehabilitation of the site. A sampling inspection to verify compliance with the clean-out objectives was carried out in July 2016. The demonstration of compliance with the clean-out objectives and the implementation of institutional controls enabled the site – rehabilitated as a public outdoor area – to be opened to the public in 2017. 1.5 Nuclear safety and radiation protection in the transport of radioactive substances ASN considers that the regional consignors involved in the transport of radioactive substances maintained a level of safety in 2017 that was on the whole satisfactory. With regard to shipments of radioactive substances from basic nuclear installations in Normandie, the requirements specific to these operations are met on the whole. ASN more specifically carried out an inspection on the La Hague site in June 2017 during preparation of the shipment of packages containing fresh MOX fuel to Japan. This inspection revealed no significant deviations. ASN also carried out an inspection into the transport of radioactive substances as part of the preparation for operation of the EPR reactor. In 2017, ASN continued checking the implementation in the BNIs of the new regulatory requirements applicable to on-site transport operations. ASN resolutions concerning the modifications of the general operating rules for transport operations within the La Hague site were issued in 2017. 2. Additional information 2.1 Informing the public Press conferences ASN held two press conferences in Rouen and Caen on the 13th and 20th of September 2017 respectively to present the situation of nuclear safety and radiation protection in the Normandie region. Work with the Local Information Committees (CLIs) ASN participated in the various general assemblies of the Local Information Committees (CLI) of Normandie and presented more specifically its assessment of the safety of the nuclear facilities concerned, the examination of the ERP reactor pressure vessel domes and the application file for modification of the Paluel site discharge and water intake authorisation. In accordance with the provisions introduced by Act 2015-992 of 17th August 2015 relative to the Energy Transition for Green Growth, the CLIs of the Cotentin area (Areva NC La Hague, Flamanville and the CSM) organised a conference-debate on the perceived level of safety of the BNIs in that area in the light of the Fukushima Daiichi accident, while the Paluel-Penly CLI organised a public meeting on the continuous monitoring of nuclear power plants, the role of the stakeholders in informing the public, and the risk awareness culture. 2.2 International action Given that EPR reactors are being built on the sites of Olkiluoto in Finland and Flamanville in France, the ASN Caen division is participating in the close cooperation between ASN and STÜK (Säteilyturvakeskus), the Finnish nuclear regulator. In 2017, staff from the Caen division took part in a technical exchange with their Finnish counterparts in France, then participated in a joint visit of the Flamanville 3 EPR construction site. Two ASN inspectors went to China in March  2017 to attend “first in series” tests conducted on the EPR reactor 1 of the Taishan site, which aimed at testing the vibrational behaviour of the reactor pressure vessel internal components. As EDF had announced its intention to capitalise on the result of these tests in the start-up of Flamanville 3, it was necessary for ASN inspectors to observe the quality of performance of these operations.