ASN Report 2017

453 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 16  - Radioactive waste and contaminated sites and soils In the course of 2017, ASN started examining the update of the BNI’s baseline safety requirements submitted by the CEA at the end of 2016, and also examined the authorisation applications for significant modifications concerning the implementation of protective measures. The work to disassemble the unused equipment of the BNI prior to the BNI renovation work is continuing: the injection line, the 250-tonne press and its handling unit are disassembled; the ongoing disassembly worksites concern the incinerator and the MI storage area; the worksites which have not yet started concern the removal of the hydraulic unit of the 250-tonne press, disassembly of the decommissioning unit (breakup room) and that of the injection cell. The instruction relative to submission of the safety case of the facility in its final state by the end of 2017 represents an important milestone in the renovation project. ASN will be attentive to ensure that this deadline is met. In application of Article 6.7 of the Order of 7th February 2012, the CEA transmitted, on 20th November 2015, a packaging approval application file for the 500 L MI and 870 L alpha-Pu FI packages of BNI 37-A, which is currently being examined. Further to persistent shortcomings in the management of deviations on BNIs 37-A and 37-B, ASN gave CEA formal notice in July 2016 to put in place an organisation designed to better detect deviations, analyse them, define appropriate corrective actions, implement them and measure their effectiveness in order to comply with the BNI Order. The observed malfunctions concerned in particular the management of the inspections and periodic tests, the conditions of waste storage in the facilities, equipment lockouts/tag-outs and management of the fire risk. The inspections carried out during 2017 to check compliance with the formal notice requirements confirmed the improvements in operating rigour and the management of deviations. ASN nevertheless remains vigilant with regard to these points and compliance with the commitments made further to the periodic safety review, particularly compliance with the completion deadlines for the facility renovation project. ཛྷ ཛྷ Effluent Treatment Station (BNI 37-B) The periodic safety review file for the STE was submitted to ASN in late October 2017. CEA planned to submit the STE decommissioning file in 2017 at the same time as the safety review file. The CEA has pushed back submission of the decommissioning file until 2021. As the STE has been stopped since 1st January 2014, its shutdown can be considered definitive since 1st January 2016 in accordance with the provisions of Act 2015-992 of 17th August 2015 relative to the Energy Transition for Green Growth. In its resolution of 27th July 2017, ASN has set 29th December2019 as the deadline date for submitting the decommissioning file, that is to say almost six years after the facility stopped operating and four years after its final shutdown, to take into account the complexity of the facility. As part of the preparation of the decommissioning file, the CEA is continuing to characterise the soils and tanks in order to establish the initial state of the facility. The inspections carried out in 2016 and the formal notice decision of 5th July 2016 led the CEA to produce an action plan to improve the handling of deviations and in particular to characterise the tanks, and to define measures for the inspection and maintenance of the retention structures and the removal of the waste stored in unauthorised premises. The inspections conducted in 2017 show that the actions taken to bring this facility into compliance are on the whole satisfactory. Progress must nevertheless continue to be made over the longer term and ASN will be vigilant regarding compliance with this action plan. Spent fuel and legacy waste and effluents recovery operations On the Saclay site ཛྷ ཛྷ Solid radioactive waste management zone (BNI 72) BNI 72, which was authorised by Decree on 14th June 1971, is used for waste storage and packaging as well as for waste retrieval from small-scale nuclear activities 5 (sources, scintillating liquids, ion exchange resins) and storage of radioactive sources. For several years now the licensee has been having difficulty in significantly improving the tracking of and compliance with the prescriptions set by ASN and the commitments made during the periodic safety review or after inspections. ASN has asked the CEA to put in place the appropriate organisation and means, particularly the means necessary for decommissioning the facility. These retrieval and packaging projects necessitate substantial technical and human resources and ASN verifies, through periodic meetings with the licensee, the progress of these projects and CEA’s compliance with its commitments. ASN notes that some waste removal worksites which had fallen behind schedule after discovering package contents that did not meet the safety baseline requirements for these operations (cans damaged or missing), have resumed and are continuing under suitably safe conditions. Removal of the first spent fuel from the storage blocks has begun. 5 . Small-scale nuclear activities represent all facilities using ionising radiation but not covered by the BNI system. Small-scale nuclear activities concern many fields such as medicine (radiology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine), human biology, research and industry.