Principles and safety issues The main challenges inherent in these facilities are to prevent the dispersal of radioactive substances and to control the chain reaction (criticality). The safety of these facilities is based on a series of static physical barriers (walls and doors of rooms and buildings) to prevent the dispersal of radioactive substances. When operations are carried out on these substances, static confinement is also provided by the equipment (gloveboxes, shielded cells) in which these operations are performed. This static confinement is supplemented by dynamic confinement consisting on the one hand of a cascade of negative pressure environments between the rooms where there is a risk of radioactive substance dissemination and, on the other, filtration of the gaseous releases into the environment. The chain reaction is controlled by strict instructions regarding the handling, storage and monitoring of the materials being stored and the use of specially designed equipment. Dedicated storage facilities The Magenta facility (BNI 169), commissioned in 2011 and operated by CEA on its Cadarache site, is dedicated to the storage of non-irradiated fissile material and the non-destructive characterisation of the nuclear materials received. It is more particularly replacing the Central Fissile Material Warehouse (MCMF, BNI 53), which was finally shut down at the end of 2017. The examination of the facility’s first periodic safety review continued in 2024. 2 ASN actions in the field of research facilities: a graded approach 2.1 The graded approach according to the risks of the facilities The BNI System applies to more than about a hundred facilities in France. This system concerns various facilities with widely differing nuclear safety, radiation protection and environmental protection challenges: nuclear research or power reactors, radioactive waste storage or disposal facilities, fuel fabrication or reprocessing plants, laboratories, industrial ionisation facilities and so on. The safety principles applied to nuclear research or industrial facilities are similar to those adopted for nuclear power reactors and nuclear “fuel cycle” facilities, while taking account of their specificities with regard to risks and detrimental effects. ASN has implemented an approach that is proportional to the extent of the risks or drawbacks inherent in the facility. In this respect, ASN has divided the facilities under its oversight into three categories from 1 to 3 in descending order of the severity of the risks and drawbacks they present for the interests mentioned in Article L. 593-1 of the Environment Code (ASN resolution 2015-DC-0523 of 29 September 2015). This BNI classification enables the oversight of the facilities to be adapted, thus reinforcing oversight of the facilities with major implications in terms of inspections and the examinations conducted by ASN. For example, the RHF and Cabri research reactors are placed in categories 1 and 2 respectively, while the Ganil particle accelerator is placed in category 3. 2.2 The periodic safety reviews The Environment Code requires that the licensees carry out a periodic safety review of their facilities every ten years. This periodic safety review is designed to assess the status of the facility with respect to the applicable regulations and to update the assessment of the risks or detrimental effects inherent in the facility, notably taking into account the condition of the facility, acquired operating experience, changes in knowledge and the rules applicable to similar facilities. They are thus an opportunity for upgrades or improvements in fields in which the safety requirements have changed, in particular seismic resistance, protection against fire and confinement. To date, all the nuclear research and miscellaneous facilities have undergone a periodic safety review. ASN implemented an examination method commensurate with the issues in the facilities: some of them require particular attention due to the risks they present, while for others – with a lower level of risk - the extent of the inspections and examinations is adapted accordingly. In 2024, ASN completed the examination of the periodic safety reviews of the Poséidon irradiator (BNI 77) operated by CEA and of the irradiator situated in Dagneux (BNI 68) operated by Ionisos. In 2024, ASN continued examining the periodic safety reviews of the Cabri (BNI 24) and Magenta (BNI 169) facilities operated by CEA, and the irradiator situated in Pouzauges (BNI 146) operated by Ionisos, the heavy ion accelerator (BNI 113) operated by the Ganil GIE and UPRA (BNI 29) operated by CIS bio international. In 2024, ASN started its examination of the new periodic safety reviews of three CEA facilities: LECI (BNI 50), LECA (BNI 55) and Lefca (BNI 123). 348 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 Nuclear research and miscellaneous industrial facilities
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