ASN Report 2017

369 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 12  - EDF Nuclear Power Plants EDF’s answers and the periodic safety review conclusions reports for the four 1,450 MWe reactors are currently being assessed and ASN intends to issue its position statement on their continued operation to the Minister in charge of Nuclear Safety in 2018. The second periodic safety review In 2011, EDF transmitted its orientation proposals for the generic studies programme for the periodic safety review of the 1,450 MWe reactors. After consulting the GPR in 2012, EDF supplemented its generic studies programme with a number of measures and clarified some of its proposals. In February 2015, ASN ruled on the orientations of the second periodic safety review of the 1,450 MWe reactors. ASNmore specifically considers that the safety objectives to be considered for the second periodic safety review of the 1,450 MWe reactors must be defined in the light of the objectives applicable to the new nuclear power reactors and asked EDF to study the measures liable to comply with this requirement as rapidly as possible, so that they can be implemented as of the second ten-yearly outage inspections on the 1,450 MWe reactors. The second ten-yearly outage inspections for the 1,450 MWe reactors are scheduled to start in 2019 with the Chooz B2 reactor and will run until 2022. 2.11 Flamanville EPR The EPR reactor is a pressurised water reactor based on a design which is an evolution of the design of the reactors currently in service in France, enabling it to comply with reinforced safety objectives. After a period of about ten years during which no nuclear reactors were built in France, EDF submitted an application in May 2006 to the Ministers responsible for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection for the creation of a 1,650 MWe EPR type reactor on the Flamanville site, already equipped with two 1,300 MWe reactors. The Government authorised its creation by Decree 2007-534 of 10th April 2007, following ASN’s favourable opinion, subsequent to its examination of the application. This Decree was modified in 2017 to extend the time allowed for commissioning of the reactor. After issue of this Creation Authorisation Decree and the building permit, construction of the Flamanville 3 reactor began in September 2007. The first pouring of concrete for the buildings in the nuclear island began in December 2007. Since then, the civil engineering (structural) work has continued and is now almost completed. Checks on the EPR vessel by the in-service inspection machine, September 2017.