ASN Report 2015

respectively. These associations

more particularly drew up a

common approach to transboundary

cooperation for the prevention and

management of a nuclear accident.

Beyond Europe, ASNplays an active

role in the work overseen by the

UN’s IAEA agency. IAEA defines

safety standards, which are then

used by its Member States to draft

their own national regulations. These

standards are also used as the basis

for peer audit missions by the safety

regulators and nuclear licensees. An

IRRS (Integrated Regulatory Review

Service) mission thus examined the

French nuclear safety regulation

system in November 2014.

Based on an ASN proposal, IAEA in

2015 revised the INES scale designed

to informthe public about the severity

of nuclear accidents, including

accidents concerning patients. ASN

also contributed to the IAEA report

on the Fukushima Daiichi accident.

ASNalso takes part in the work done

by the Organisation for Economic

Cooperation and Development’s

Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA),

allowing the exchange of information,

experience and practices between

the national regulatory Authorities.

In 2015, the NEA more specifically

continued its work to analyse the

lessons learned from the Fukushima

Daiichi accident, published a green

paper on defence in depth and

organised a seminar on safety culture

among the regulators. ASNalso takes

part in several ASN groups, one of

which is devoted to inspection

practices in the various Member

States.

ASN plays an active role in the

international MDEP (Multinational

Design Evaluation Programme)

initiative, the aim of which is to

develop innovative approaches to

pool the resources and knowledge

of safety regulators tasked with

evaluating and overseeing the

construction of new reactors. ASN

contributes in particular to the group

devoted to the EPR reactor, as well as

to the groups working on codes and

standards, digital instrumentation

and control and multinational

inspection of nuclear component

manufacturers.

ASNalsoworks withmany countries

through bilateral agreements. ASN

takes care to share its best practices

and conversely to understand the

methods used in other countries.

Personnel exchanges are organised

regularly, ranging from a few days

to assignments lasting several years.

ASN is continuing with its

commitment to international

assistance programmes. The purpose

of this assistance is to enable the

countries concerned to acquire the

safety and transparency culture that

is essential for a national system

of nuclear safety and radiation

protection regulation. In 2015, ASN

took part in projects for the benefit

of the safety regulators of China,

Ukraine, Vietnam and Morocco.

ASN acts as the national point of

contact for international conventions

on nuclear safety and the safety of

spent fuel and radioactive waste

management. These conventions

are an important tool in reinforcing

nuclear safetyworldwide, inparticular

through the three-yearly meetings

at which each country submits a

report on the implementation of

these conventions for peer review.

ASN is the competent Authority

for the Convention on the Early

Notification of a Nuclear Accident

and the Convention on Assistance

in the case of a Nuclear Accident or

Radiological Emergency. The purpose

of these conventions is to facilitate

the circulation of information and

cooperation between countries in

the event of a nuclear accident.

Outlook

In 2016, ASNwill continue to work

ondeveloping the European approach

to nuclear safety and radiation

protection.

At a national level, ASNwill support

the joint proposals from HERCA

and WENRA on transboundary

cooperation in the prevention and

management of a nuclear accident.

Theworkwill continue together with

the national departments in charge

of disaster protection and emergency

services.

At an international level, ASN will

continue to urge the need to learn

the lessons from all aspects of

the Fukushima Daiichi accident,

including organisational and human

factors. The 7th reviewmeeting of the

contracting parties to the convention

on nuclear safety will be held in

2016, for whichASNwill coordinate

drafting of the report. Finally, ASN

will contribute to the examination

initiated by INRA (International

Nuclear Regulators Association) of

the effectiveness of the international

peer review arrangements (IRRS,

OSART –Operational Safety Review

Team, etc.).

ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN 2015