The CEA Cadarache centre operates numerous installations which vary in their nature and their safety implications. At the Cadarache centre, ten installations are in final shutdown status, nine are in operation and one is under construction. ASN has started or is continuing the examination of the Periodic Safety Review Guidance Files (DOR) or the concluding reports for 15 of the 20 installations: Pégase and Cascad, Cabri, Rapsodie, STE, Masurca, ATUe, MCMF, LECA, the storage area, Phébus, Lefca, Chicade, Cedra, Magenta and Agate, and has issued its conclusions on the periodic safety review of Cascad, ATPu, LPC and STAR. When examining these reports, ASN is particularly attentive to the robustness of the proposed and deployed action plans. It ensures that the installations are in conformity with the applicable regulations and that the risks and adverse effects are effectively controlled. Pégase‑Cascad facility – CEA CENTRE BNI 22 comprises two separate facilities, Pégase and Cascad: • the Pégase reactor entered service on the Cadarache site in 1964 and was operated for about ten years. CEA was authorised by a Decree of 17 April 1980 to reuse the Pégase facility for the storage of radioactive substances, in particular spent fuel elements stored in a pool; • the Cascad facility, authorised by a Decree of 4 September 1989 modifying the Pégase facility and operated since 1990, remains in service, dedicated to the dry storage of irradiated fuel in wells. The Decree of 4 September 1989 obliges CEA to apply to ASN every ten years for authorisation to prolong the dry storage of irradiated fuel in Cascad. Based on the conclusions of the last periodic safety reviews of the facility and the oversight actions conducted by ASN over the last few years, ASN has authorised, through resolution CODEP-DRC-2024-014408 of 6 June 2024, the prolongation of storage for a further period of ten years. The examination of the Pégase facility decommissioning file continued in 2024 with the analysis of the complementary elements received from the licensee and the opinion of the environmental authority. Concerning the removal of radioactive substances from the facility, which is necessary for its decommissioning, ASN notes that the licensee adheres to the schedule set by ASN Chairman’s resolution CODEPCLG-2017-006524 of 10 February 2017 for the removal from storage of Pégase’s araldite-encapsulated fuels, called the “DECAP” project, a French acronym standing for “removal from storage of Pégase’s araldite-encapsulated fuels”. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety and radiation protection is broadly satisfactory as regards the measures taken to prevent external hazards, the management of effluents and the monitoring of the facility’s discharges. The implementation of the actions identified during the last periodic safety reviews is also consistent with the information on action plan progress transmitted to ASN. In 2025, the Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR) shall remain attentive to the treatment of the cans containing fuel in the DECAP process, to their on-site transportation to Cascad, and to compliance with the associated requirements. Cabri research reactor – CEA CENTRE The Cabri reactor (BNI 24), created on 27 May 1964, is intended for conducting experimental programmes aiming to achieve a better understanding of the behaviour of nuclear fuel in the event of a reactivity accident. The reactor has been equipped with a pressurised water loop since 2006 in order to study the behaviour of the fuel at high combustion rates in accident situations of increasing reactivity in a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR). Since January 2018, a test programme called “CIP” (Cabri International Program) is in progress in the facility; this programme began in the early 2000’s and necessitated substantial modification and safety upgrading work on the facility. The CIP test programme and the electronic component irradiation tests continued in 2024 with the performance of one test. ASN’s examination of the periodic safety review reports, for which the concluding report was submitted in 2017, continued in 2024, and ASN transmitted its conclusions to the licensee in November 2024. The requirements are essentially linked to control of the seismic and fire risks, but also to the ageing of the facility. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety and radiation protection is broadly satisfactory, particularly regarding the tracking of commitments made to ASN, equally well in the context of the periodic safety review as in the tracking of corrective actions implemented further to the inspections. The licensee must be more rigorous in the performance of periodic inspections and tests and the analysis of their results. Lastly, the licensee must put in place a management strategy along with a projected schedule for retrieval of the sodium-containing waste and the contaminated sodium still present in the BNI. Furthermore, ASNR is awaiting information from the CEA on the long-term continuation of the reactor’s activities beyond the ongoing test programme. CEA has thus started a process to guarantee resources with the specific skills necessary to operate the Cabri reactor. This continued operation is notably conditional upon the repair of a reactor deficiency due to the presence of corrosion on the canal containing the hodoscope. Rapsodie research reactor – CEA CENTRE The Rapsodie reactor (BNI 25) is the first sodium-cooled Fast-Neutron Reactor (FNR) built in France. It operated from 1967 to 1978. A sealing defect in the reactor pressure vessel led to its final shutdown in 1983. Decommissioning operations were subsequently undertaken, but have been partially stopped further to a fatal accident in 1994 during the washing of a sodium tank. The fuel has been unloaded from the core and evacuated from the facility. Furthermore, a large part of the radioactive fluids and components have been removed, and the reactor vessel is contained. The reactor pool has been emptied, partially cleaned out and decommissioned and the waste containing sodium has been removed. 90 ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection PROVENCE‑ALPES‑CÔTE D’AZUR
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