discovery in 2022 of falsifications concerning conventional products at the manufacturer of steel castings and forgings, Japan Steel Works Ltd. (JSW) – which also produces parts for transport packagings – confirmed the importance of inspecting the packaging manufacturing and maintenance operations. 4.2.2 Packaging maintenance inspections The consignor or user of a packaging loaded with radioactive substances must be able to prove to ASN that this packaging is periodically inspected and, if necessary, repaired and maintained in good condition such that it continues to satisfy all the relevant requirements and specifications of its safety case and its approval certificate, even after repeated use. For approved packagings, the inspections carried out by ASN for example concern the following maintenance activities: ∙the periodic inspections of the components of the containment system (screws, welds, seals, etc.); ∙the periodic inspections of the securing and handling components; ∙the definition of the frequency of replacement of the packaging components which must take account of any reduction in performance due to wear, corrosion, ageing, etc. 4.2.3 Inspections of packages not requiring approval For the packages that do not require ASN approval, the consignor must, at the request of ASN, be able to provide the documents proving that the package model complies with the applicable regulations. More specifically, for each package, a file demonstrating that the model meets the regulation requirements and that it can in particular withstand the specified tests, along with a certification delivered by the manufacturer attesting full compliance with the model specifications, must be kept at the disposal of ASN. The various inspections carried out in recent years confirm progress in compliance with this requirement and in implementation of the ASN recommendations detailed in its guide concerning packages which are not subject to approval (Guide No. 7, volume 3). This Guide proposes a structure and a minimum content for the safety cases demonstrating that packages which are not subject to approval do comply with all the applicable requirements, along with the minimum content of a declaration of conformity of a package design with the regulations. ASN thus noted improvements in the content of the certificate of conformity and the safety case drawn up by the relevant players, more specifically for the industrial package models. The representativeness of the tests performed and the associated safety case remain the focal points during the ASN inspections, in particular for type A packages. Furthermore, ASN is still finding shortcomings in the demonstration by some of the players (designers, manufacturers, distributors, owners, consignors, companies performing the regulatory drop tests, package maintenance, etc.) of package conformity with the regulations. The areas for improvement concern the following points in particular: ∙the description of the authorised contents per type of packaging; ∙the demonstration that there is no loss or dispersion of the radioactive content under normal conditions of transport; GRAPH 3 Breakdown of number of approvals according to content carried, issued in 2024 Spent fuel Fresh fuel (excluding MOX) Irradiated or non-irradiated fuel Irradiated target UF6 Uranium or plutonium powders Samples or mixtures of radioactive materials Waste Radioactive aqueous effluents Sources 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 8 2 1 3 2 2 2 1 1 GRAPH 2 Breakdown of number of approvals according to type, issued in 2024 Extension Extension of approval period Renewal Confined environment transport authorisation Validation 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 7 1 1 2 288 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 Transport of radioactive substances
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