ASN Report 2017

390 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 13  - Nuclear fuel cycle installations process to separate the Areva group into several legal entities. Framatome and Areva NAH signed agreements for management of their inter-dependence, notably in the field of emergency management and operating experience feedback. Although this management mode can be envisaged over the short term owing to the common past of the two licensees, it is probable that they will gradually become more independent. In 2018, ASN will inspect the operational nature of the mutual provisions adopted by these licensees. 3.4 Fuel cycle consistency ASN monitors the overall consistency of the industrial choices made with regard to fuel management and which could have an impact on safety. ASN thus periodically asks that, together with the firms in the fuel cycle, EDF provide data to demonstrate the long-term compatibility between changes to the fuel characteristics and fuel management and changes to the fuel cycle facilities and corresponding transports. EDF transmits a “Cycle impact” file in response to this request. In 2015, ASN asked EDF to conduct an overall review of the “Cycle impact” file by 2016. The period covered by the study is from January 2016 to December  2030 and identifies the limit thresholds (capacity saturation, fuel isotope limit reached, etc.) foreseeable up until 2040. The update of the “Cycle impact” file comprises a number of innovations with respect to the previous approaches initiated in 1999 and 2006: ཛྷ ཛྷ The study period, which habitually covered ten years, is increased to fifteen years, in order to take account of the time actually observed in the nuclear industry to design and build any new facilities identified as being necessary further to the assessment carried out. ཛྷ ཛྷ Radioactive substances transport contingencies are explicitly incorporated into the assessment. ཛྷ ཛྷ Nuclear reactor closures are studied for the period of time considered, in particular assuming stable electricity demand until 2025, to take account of the planning provisions included in the Energy Transition for Green Growth Act 2015-992 of 17th August 2015. ཛྷ ཛྷ The strategy for managing and storing spent fuels pending reprocessing or disposal is part of the scope of the assessment. Saturation of existing capacity is in fact highly probable during the period in question. EDF submitted the updated “Cycle impact” file to ASN on 30th June 2016. This file is currently being examined by ASN, which will issue its position statement in 2018. 4. Outlook Restructuring of the Areva group The new Areva NAH and Framatome entities, resulting from the separation of the Areva group, state that they wish to maintain strong operational ties in the performance of their responsibilities as nuclear licensee. These ties are to a large extent formally enshrined in various agreements. Although this management mode can be envisaged over the short term owing to the common past of the two licensees, it is probable that they will gradually become more independent of each other. In 2018, ASN will inspect the operational nature of the mutual assistance provisions adopted by these licensees and will be attentive to their remaining operational over the long-term. Fuel cycle consistency In 2016, ASN started an examination of the updated “Cycle impact” file covering the 2016-2030 period and aimed at anticipating the various emerging needs in order to ensure the management and consistency of the nuclear fuel cycle in France, from the viewpoint of safety. ASN is particularly vigilant with regard to the level of occupancy of the spent fuel underwater storage facilities (Areva and EDF). It asked EDF, as client, to examine the impact on the anticipated saturation dates for these storage facilities of the shutdown of one or more reactors, of a possible modification in the spent fuel reprocessing traffic, as well as the solutions envisaged for delaying this saturation. The assessment of the “Cycle impact” file submitted in  2016 is in progress and will be the subject of a joint review in May 2018 by the Advisory Committees for Laboratories and Plants, for Wastes, for Reactors and for Transports, so that ASN can issue a position statement on these subjects in 2018. ASN will also continue to examine the files associated with fuel cycle management, notably the creation of a BNI dedicated to the storage of uranium from reprocessing on the Tricastin site and UP3-A in La Hague for the storage of compacted waste packages from spent fuel reprocessing. The new storage capacity envisaged ASN will issue a position statement at the beginning of 2019 on the safety options of the centralised spent fuel pool project submitted by EDF. La Hague site In 2018, ASN will be particularly vigilant with regard to the development of corrosion in the fission products concentration evaporators. Areva NC shall be required to consolidate its methods for inspecting this equipment and its corrosion forecasts. Areva NC has started to replace this equipment for gradual commissioning between 2020 and 2021. ASN will examine the applications concerned. With regard to the periodic safety reviews, ASN will in 2018 be monitoring the performance of the conformity work on the UP3-A plant and compliance with the requirements of the resolution of 3rd May 2016. The implementation of the EIP identification methodology and the reassessment of the