ASN notes that the decommissioning operations on the BNI part are falling behind schedule due to operational difficulties. Further to ASN’s requests and inspections, the licensee has started transferring the radioactive and hazardous substances from areas 61 and 79 to the site’s storage areas that meet today’s safety standards. Areas 61 and 79 of BNI 105 were not completely emptied by the end of 2024 as planned. This is because the necessary reconditioning operations and the modalities of on-site transport started late and with sometimes inappropriate technical means, even though in 2024 Orano gradually put into service various items of equipment capable of improving the conditioning of the substances for transfer to the site’s storage yards. ASNR will continue its tightened monitoring of these operations and now expects Orano to ensure rigorous technical and time frame management of the project. ASN considers that the level of safety of the Philippe Coste uranium fluorination plant is satisfactory. ASN checked progress of the modernisation of the support functions in 2024. The works to replace the old surface treatment facility and the on-line fluorine conditioning facility have begun. On the other hand, the design of non-uranium-bearing effluent treatment units is still at the project stage. Georges Besse I enrichment plant The Georges Besse I (Eurodif) uranium enrichment facility constituting BNI 93 consisted essentially of a plant for separating uranium isotopes using the gaseous diffusion process. After this plant stopped production in May 2012, the licensee implemented the “intensive rinsing followed by air venting” operations (Prisme operation) from 2013 to 2016. These operations allowed the extraction of virtually all the residual uranium deposited in the diffusion barriers. The main residual risk of BNI 93 is now associated with the UF6 containers in the storage yards, which are still attached to the perimeter of the installation. These yards should in the short term be attached to the Tricastin uranium storage yards (BNI 178). The Decree ordering Orano to proceed with the decommissioning of the Georges Besse 1 plant was published on 5 February 2020. The decommissioning issues particularly concern the large volume of very low-level waste (VLLW) produced, including 160,000 tonnes of metal waste which is undergoing specific studies. The licensee continued the decommissioning preparation operations in 2024, dismantling certain equipment items and conducting investigations to enhance knowledge of the residual contamination, and starting the works associated with the future unit in which the facility’s 1,400 diffusers will be cut up and conditioned in packages. In 2024, ASN also gave its approval for the dismantling of the facility’s two cooling towers. The dismantling of these towers by mechanical “nibbling” should begin in 2025. ASN considers that the BNI 93 decommissioning operations were carried out under satisfactory conditions of safety and radiation protection in 2024. Georges Besse II enrichment plant The Georges Besse II (GB II) plant, which constitutes BNI 168, has been the site’s enrichment facility since the Georges Besse I plant was shut down. It separates uranium isotopes using the centrifugation process. The standard of safety of the plant’s facilities in 2024 was satisfactory. The technologies used in the facility enable high standards of safety, radiation protection and environmental protection to be achieved. Refrigerant losses into the atmosphere dropped significantly in 2024 compared with 2023, but the hot weather temperatures were not as high in 2024. In 2022, Orano began the project to extend the GB II North enrichment plant in order to increase its production capacities by adding centrifuge modules. The GB II North plant extension project underwent a prior consultation from 1 February to 9 April 2023, organised by the French National Commission on Public Debate (CNDP). In June 2023, Orano submitted the substantial modification application file in order to build this extension. This extension project underwent a public inquiry in April 2024 and construction work began in September 2024. ASN conducted a first inspection in December with satisfactory results. Maintenance, effluent treatment and waste conditioning facilities The effluent treatment and uranium recovery facility (IARU), which constitutes BNI 138, ensures the treatment of liquid effluents and waste, as well as maintenance operations for various BNIs. The level of safety in the BNI’s various units in 2024 was satisfactory. ASN notes positively the fact that the treatment capacity of the new waste treatment unit can now absorb the waste from the site’s temporary storage areas. ASN also considers that fire risk prevention is improving. Lastly, the commissioning of building 57L in 2024 improves the safety of certain storage areas. Orano is planning for substantial changes in the treatment of the effluents from the Tricastin platform and has started to provide the DOS’s for these projects. These projects will ultimately lead to facilities ensuring better performance and higher safety standards. The periodic safety review of BNI 138 obliged Orano to consider creating new units for certain effluent treatment steps given the technical/ economic impossibility of reinforcing or improving the existing facilities. ASNR will remain attentive to the progress of these projects. ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 43 Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection AUVERGNE-RHÔNE-ALPES
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NjQ0NzU=