IRRS follow-up mission to France - October 2017

14 III. BASIS FOR REVIEW A) Preparatory work and IAEA ReviewTeam At the request of the Government of France, a preparatory meeting for the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) follow-up mission was conducted on 1 June 2017 in Montrouge. The preparatory meeting was carried out by the appointed Team Leader, Mr Bill Dean, Deputy Team Leader, Ms Ann McGarry and the IAEA representatives, Mr Tim Kobetz and Mr Ronald Pacheco. The French team was led by the ASN Chairman and President, Pierre-Franck Chevet. During the meeting, the representatives of France provided the IRRS mission preparatory team with an overview on the progress made in response to the 2014 IRRS mission recommendations and suggestions. The preparatory meeting participants agreed that the scope of the follow-up mission will be the same as the 2014 IRRS mission. This was followed by a discussion on the work plan for the implementation of the IRRS follow-up mission in France from 2 to 9 October 2017. The proposed IRRS team composition (senior regulators from Member States to be involved in the review) was discussed and the size of the IRRS team was tentatively confirmed. Logistics including meeting and work space, counterparts and Liaison Officer identification, lodging and transportation arrangements were also addressed. The France Liaison Officer for the preparatory meeting and the IRRS follow-up mission was Mr Ambroise Pascal, Head of Cabinet, Office of the Director General, ASN. ASN provided the IAEA and the IRRS team with the advance reference material for the review in July 2017. In preparation for the mission, the IRRS team conducted a review of the advance reference material and provided their initial review comments to the IAEA TeamCoordinator prior to the commencement of the mission. B) Reference for the review The most relevant IAEA safety standards and the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources were used as review criteria. A more complete list of IAEA publications used as references for this mission is given in Appendix VII. C) Conduct of the review An initial IRRS team meeting was conducted on Sunday, 1 October 2017, in Montrouge by the IRRS Team Leader and the IAEA Team Coordinator to discuss the general overview, the focus areas and specific issues of the mission, to clarify the basis for the review and the background, context and objectives of the IRRS and to agree on the methodology for the review and the evaluation among all reviewers. They also presented the agenda for the mission. The France Liaison Officer was represented at the initial IRRS team meeting so that logistical arrangements planned for the mission could be addressed. The reviewers also reported their first impressions of the advance reference material. The IRRS entrance meeting was held on Monday, 2 October 2017, with the participation of senior management and staff of ASN. Opening remarks were made by ASN Chairman and President, Pierre-Franck Chevet, and Mr Bill Dean, IRRS Team Leader. Mr Olivier Gupta, Director General, ASN, gave an overview of the major regulatory changes in nuclear and radiation safety since 2014.