ASN Report 2020

Examination of the periodic safety review concluding report submitted in 2017 continued in 2020, with the licensee submitting a series of commitments to improve the safety of the facility. Examination of the packaging approval request for the composition of intermediate level “870 L bulkvrac sources” packages, submitted in June 2017, did not enable ASN to rule on approval. A qualif ication programme for this type of package must be f inalised by April 2021, and proof of the number of packages that will be produced during the process development phase must be provided in order to guarantee compliance with the facility creation authorisation decree. Cedra storage facility – CEA Centre Since 2006, the Cedra facility (BNI 164) is used to store ILW-LL pending the creation of appropriate disposal routes. The CEA forecasts that this facility will be filled to capacity by 2027. The studies concerning a project to double the storage capacity began in 2020. ASN considers that the main steps of this project need to be better def ined and that CEA must look ahead to all the procedures in order to have the necessary storage capacities for overall management of the CEA’s waste. The CEA sent ASN the periodic safety review report for the facility in November 2017, and it is currently being examined. Complementary information has been requested, particularly concerning the facility’s baseline requirements conformity check and the action plan. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety and radiation protection of Cedra is on the whole satisfactory. Magenta storage warehouse – CEA Centre The Magenta facility (BNI 169), which replaces the MCMF currently being decommissioned, has been dedicated since 2011 to the storage of non-irradiated f issile material and the non-destructive characterisation of the nuclear materials received. Commissioning of the glove boxes was refused by ASN in 2019 and no new commissioning request was made in 2020. These glove boxes are intended for work on the facility’s uranium- and plutonium-bearing materials, notably for the repackaging of fissile materials and to allow better characterisation of certain materials. ASN considers that the facility must further improve its operating rigour, and more specif ically the monitoring of protection important components and their modifications. Effluent advanced management and processing facility – CEA Centre The Eflluent advanced management and processing facility (Agate) BNI 171, commissioned in 2014 to replace BNI 37-B which is now shut down, uses an evaporation process to concentrate radioactive liquid effluents containing mainly beta- and gamma-emitting radionuclides. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety, radiation protection and environmental protection in the Agate facility is on the whole satisfactory. The CEA announced in December 2020 that the Agate evaporator would be out of service for a period of from six months to one year further to a failure on the steam production system. ASN underlines that this facility plays a central role in the management of the CEA effluents and as such constitutes a sensitive facility in the CEA’s decommissioning and material and waste management strategy. Jules Horowitz Reactor project – CEA Centre The Jules Horowitz Reactor (RJH, BNI 172) , under construction since 2009, is a pressurised-water research reactor designed to study the behaviour of materials under irradiation and of power reactor fuels. It will also allow the production of artificial radionuclides for nuclear medicine. Its power is limited to 100 MWth. The installation of the reactor pool equipment continued during 2020, more particularly with the insertion of the core containment (central part of the reactor pile block) at the end of the year. Several items of equipment were also introduced into the various buildings of the facility (cooling towers, transfer conveyor, diesel fuel tanks and systems). The lining of the pools and channels of the nuclear auxiliaries building is still being installed. The CEA made a major reorganisation of the RJH project in 2020, setting up a team integrating project ownership and project management under CEA authority, in order to enhance the efficiency of project execution and monitoring. ASN considers that the new organisation maintains the skills of the initial teams. On the other hand, this has had consequences on the requirements with regard to conformity assessments of the assemblies containing nuclear pressure equipment. This led the CEA to submit to a request to adjust certain requirements to ASN, which responded positively for some but not all of the items of equipment. Lastly, the CEA identified a technical problem in 2020 during the qualif ication tests of certain components inside the reactor pile block. Problems of wear and excessive vibration were observed at the extremities of these components. Consequently, the CEA has set up an ad hoc working group to solve this problem. The technical solutions could lead to design modifications and revising of the corresponding safety studies. ASN considers that the RJH construction site is managed satisfactorily by the CEA and that the management and addressing of deviations is rigorous and effective. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 97 REGIONAL OVERVIEWOF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION PROVENCE ALPES-CÔTE D’AZUR