ASN Report 2017

40 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 2017 saw the continued examination of four decommissioning files, which were the subject of an opinion by the Environmental Authority of the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development and were opened up for a public inquiry: BNI 93 Eurodif and BNI 105 Comurhex on the Tricastin site (Areva), BNI 94 AMI Chinon (EDF) and BNI 52 ATUe in Cadarache (CEA). ASN also began to examine step two of the decommissioning decree for the Superphénix fast neutron reactor (BNI 91) so that the license could be issued for decommissioning of the reactor vessel internals. Examinations of the periodic safety reviews (BNIs 33, 38 and 47) and of the complete decommissioning files (BNIs 33 and 38) for the Areva La Hague plant were continued in 2017 and presented to the ASN Advisory Committee in April  2017. This latter concluded that the risk management measures taken for the decommissioning operations were on the whole appropriate. 2017 was also marked by the submission of the periodic safety review conclusion reports for most of these facilities. Finally, BNI 61 LAMA in Grenoble (CEA) was delicensed. Outlook ASN’s key actions in 2018 will concern the monitoring of progress in decommissioning and waste management projects, especially the retrieval and packaging of CEA and Areva legacy waste, where delays are particularly detrimental to the safety of the sites concerned. ASN will issue a position statement on these files once examination is completed. In 2018, ASN will examine the justification data concerning the change in EDF strategy regarding the decommissioning of its first-generation GCR reactors, as well as data concerning the safety of these reactors during the period pending decommissioning. ASN will issue a position statement on EDF’s request for a strategy change on completion of all the technical and regulatory examinations. The scheduling of final shutdown and operations in preparation for decommissioning of the reactors of the FessenheimNPP, the first 900 MWe PWR reactors connected to the grid, will also be a major safety challenge. The periodic safety reviews of the installations undergoing decommissioning, for which the majority of the conclusions files were submitted by the licensees in 2017, will also be the subject of technical examinations tailored to the risks and detrimental effects these installations represent. In  2018 and  2019, a further ten or so facilities will submit their decommissioning files. Lastly, in order to clarify the decommissioning andwastemanagement regulations updated by the Ordinance of 10th February 2016, ASN will continue to develop new guides in these areas as well as in the area of contaminated sites and soils in the BNIs. Significant events and outlook