GOLFECH NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The Golfech NPP operated by EDF is located in the Tarn‑et‑Garonne département, 40 km west of Montauban. It comprises two Pressurised Water Reactors (PWRs), each of 1,300 Megawatts electric (MWe), commissioned in 1990 and 1993. Reactors 1 and 2 constitute BNIs 135 and 142 respectively. ASN considers that the performance of the Golfech NPP with regard to nuclear safety, environmental protection and radiation protection is in line with the general assessment of EDF plant performance. In the area of nuclear safety, ASN considers that the level of performance is now satisfactory, in an industrial context where the workload is nevertheless lower than in the previous years. During 2024, reactor 2 was shut down several times to save fuel and reactor 1 shut down following the detection of a leak on a secondary system equipment item. ASN takes a positive view of the management of the transient operating conditions associated with these situations. Weaknesses were nevertheless noted in system configuring and control of the documentation. Furthermore, ASN’s inspections revealed shortcomings in control of the internal explosion risk and management of emergency resources. With regard to maintenance, several technical incidents involving automatic systems occurred, three of which led to reactor trips. Lastly, the changes in the reactor outage scheduling led to several activity postponements, which caused a few omissions in the planning of periodic inspections. ASN thus considers that the licensee must consolidate its efforts in 2025 and confirm the stability of the site’s nuclear safety performance in the context of the scheduled outages of the two reactors. The radiation protection situation is considered satisfactory. The number of significant events remained low and ASN underlines that the workers take the radiation protection rules duly into account. Particular vigilance must however Occitanie The Bordeaux and Marseille divisions jointly regulate nuclear safety, radiation protection and the transport of radioactive substances in the 13 départements of the Occitanie region. 115 inspections 8 significant events rated level 1 or higher The installations and activities to regulate comprise: • Basic Nuclear Installations: • the Golfech NPP (2 reactors of 1,300 MWe), • the CEA Marcoule research centre, which includes the civil BNIs Atalante and Phénix and the Diadem waste storage facility construction site, • the Melox “MOX “ nuclear fuel production plant, • the Centraco facility for processing low-level radioactive waste, • the Gammatec industrial irradiator, • the Écrin waste storage facility on the Malvési site; • small-scale nuclear activities in the medical sector: • 14 external-beam radiotherapy departments, • 6 brachytherapy departments, • 20 nuclear medicine departments, • 91 centres practising fluoroscopy-guided interventional procedures, • 121 computed tomography scanners, • some 5,000 medical and dental radiology devices; • small-scale nuclear activities in the industrial, veterinary and research sectors: • about 800 industrial and research centres, including 4 cyclotron particle accelerators, 29 companies exercising an industrial radiography activity and 60 laboratories situated mainly in the universities of the region, • some 600 veterinary surgeries or clinics practising diagnostic radiology; • activities associated with the transport of radioactive substances; • ASN-approved laboratories and organisations: • 6 laboratories approved for taking environmental radioactivity measurements, • 7 organisations approved for measuring radon, • 2 organisations approved for radiation protection controls. Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 In 2024, ASN carried out 115 inspections in the Occitanie region, comprising 53 in the Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs), 53 in small-scale nuclear facilities, five in the area of Radioactive Substance Transport (TSR) and four concerning ASN-approved organisations and laboratories. ASN also carried out 12 days of labour inspection at the Golfech Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). During 2024, four significant events rated level 1 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) were notified by the NPP licensees of the nuclear installations in the Occitanie region, and one in the industrial sector. In small-scale nuclear activities, one significant radiation protection event rated level 4 on the ASN-SFRO scale and two events rated level 2 on the ASN-SFRO scale were notified to ASN. Lastly, in the context of their oversight duties, the ASN inspectors issued one violation report. ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 83
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