ASN Report 2017

401 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 14  - Nuclear research and miscellaneous industrial facilities In 2017, CEA completed the post-criticality start-up tests to check correct general operation and the reactor power increase. Finally, at the end of 2017, CEA transmitted the periodic safety review file for the installation. ASN will begin its examination in 2018. The inspections carried out by ASN in 2017 concerned fires and periodic checks and tests. They revealed no significant deviations. FOCUS Cabri, towards the first experimental test In 2006, CEA was authorised to modify its Cabri facility in order to replace the sodium loop by a Pressurised Water Test Loop (BEP) and carry out power excursions. The Decree provides for two authorisations, for the first criticality of the modified facility and for the first active experimental test, respectively. Since 2015, the year its modified facility first went critical, CEA has been preparing the next project milestone, with the authorisation application for the first experimental test. For its part, in January 2016 ASN defined a technical examination programme for this application, covering the latest data concerning the safety reassessment, the start-up tests for the equipment important for safety, or equipment which could constitute a hazard and the provisions concerning nuclear pressure equipment. The main safety issues are: ཛྷ ཛྷ the confinement of radioactive substances, in particular those to be introduced into the BEP; ཛྷ ཛྷ control of the breeder core reactivity during the experimental tests, leading to power peaks of about 25 MW for a few milliseconds; ཛྷ ཛྷ the handling operations required for the experiments and for exploitation of the results in the reactor hall. ASN will issue a position statement on this file in 2018. Source: CEA REACTOR CAVITY HODOSCOPE CROSS-SECTION Upper channel head PW containment Safety tube Hodoscope Liner CW outlet Handling hood Tank 60 Tank 90 PW filter CW outlet BPW tank REEF 304 suspect effluents tank CW tanks basemat Reactor water tanks Reactor cavity Pumps hall CW inlet Auxiliary tank CW inlet Core block Vessel Lower channel head