CRUAS-MEYSSE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT Commissioned between 1984 and 1985 and operated by EDF, the Cruas-Meysse NPP is situated in the Ardèche département on the municipalities of Cruas and Meysse and comprises four PWRs of 900 MWe each. Reactors 1 and 2 constitute BNI 111 and reactors 3 and 4 constitute BNI 112. ASN considers that the performance of the Cruas-Meysse NPP with regard to nuclear safety, radiation protection and environmental protection is in line with ASN’s general assessment of the EDF plant performance. With regard to nuclear safety, ASN considers that the large number of significant events related to inappropriate actions during operational operations reveals inadequacies in activity preparation and monitoring or incomplete operating documents. ASN therefore considers that the operating rigour improvement plan put in place by EDF in 2023 and prolonged in 2024 must be pursued. From the maintenance aspect, the site is tackling an intense industrial programme with a significant increase in the number of maintenance activities, particularly during the fourth ten-yearly outage of reactor 3 and the replacement of its SGs. This ten-yearly outage began in August 2024 and is proceeding with satisfactory levels of safety and a well-managed activities schedule. Concerning radiation protection, improvements in practices were observed in 2024 compared with the preceding years, particularly in the management of containment air locks and worksite zones. The radiation protection controls on leaving the reactor building have been reinforced. ASN notes that the site’s environmental protection results are stable with respect to 2023. Control of liquid containment and the prevention effluent spillages remain the main areas in which ASN wants to see improvements. The site’s occupational health and safety results are satisfactory. ASN has nevertheless identified a point concerning occupational safety that requires particular attention, namely compliance with working times, given the intensity of the industrial programme. Tricastin site The Tricastin nuclear site, situated in the Drôme and Vaucluse départements, is a vast industrial site accommodating the largest concentration of nuclear and chemical facilities in France. It is situated on the right bank of the Donzère‑Mondragon Canal (a diversion channel of the river Rhône) between Valence and Avignon. It occupies a surface area of 800 hectares covering three municipalities, namely Saint‑Paul‑Trois‑Châteaux and Pierrelatte in the Drôme département, and Bollène in the Vaucluse département. The site harbours a large number of installations, with a nuclear power plant comprising four 900 MWe reactors, “nuclear fuel cycle” facilities, and a facility which fulfilled maintenance and storage functions and is now undergoing decommissioning. Tricastin nuclear power plant The Tricastin NPP comprises four 900 MWe PWRs: reactors 1 and 2, commissioned in 1980, constitute BNI 87, while reactors 3 and 4, commissioned in 1981, constitute BNI 88. ASN considers that the nuclear safety performance of the Tricastin NPP is in line with ASN’s general assessment of EDF plant performance. Its radiation protection performance, however, is considered to be below the general assessment of the EDF power plants. Lastly, ASN considers that the plant’s environmental protection performance has improved thanks to the implementation of an ongoing action plan in this area. As regards nuclear safety ASN considers that the plant’s performance remains satisfactory. With regard to operational management of incidents and accidents and emergency situation organisation and means, ASN considers that the operating teams’ knowledge of the instructions and equipment is satisfactory. As far as routine operating activities are concerned, however, weaknesses have been observed in system configuration management and the associated lockout/tagout operations, and in control room monitoring. With regard to maintenance, the marking event in 2024 was the fourth ten-yearly outage of reactor 4, the last of these outages for the site, which ran satisfactorily. For the other two reactor outages performed in 2024, ASN considers that EDF carried out the planned activities proficiently, complying with the corresponding safety requirements. ASN nevertheless expects to see improvements in the application of the regulatory requirements associated with work on PE. The radiation protection performance of the Tricastin NPP shows some weak points, particularly concerning radiological cleanliness during the reactor outages. This situation led to several ESRs, one of which was rated level 2 on the INES scale after a site employee received a dose to the skin that could exceed the authorised annual limit. ASN expects to see improvements in worksite preparation, in the monitoring of radiological cleanliness and in practices for checking workers for contamination on leaving worksites involving a contamination risk. With regard to environmental protection, ASN considers that the site’s organisation to meet the regulatory requirements in this area has improved. This area is covered by an action plan that is presented regularly to ASN and the site’s results have progressed. As regards occupational safety, ASN considers the site’s results to be satisfactory but not as good as in 2023. In effect, although no event led to serious consequences for the workers, the number of minor accidents is increasing. ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 41 Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection AUVERGNE-RHÔNE-ALPES
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