ASN Report 2015

4.2.5 Management of transport safety

At the end of 2012, ASN conducted three technical visits

to the major players in radioactive substance transport

for the fuel cycle, namely Areva, EDF and CEA, in order

to assess the management of safety in this area. Analysis

of these visits led to the follow-up letters published on

www.asn.fr

in 2013. ASN continued its efforts on this

topic, by carrying out a specific inspection at Areva TN

in 2015. Among the main recommendations, ASN asks

that the general transport organisation take account

of subcontracting, that the individual and collective

expertise of the participants in the transport of radioactive

substances be put to best use and that operations that are

important for safety be clearly identified. Finally, ASN

considers that in certain cases, consideration should be

given to a method for recording and analysing experience

feedback from all transport activities, involving the

packaging users.

Inspection of the transport

of Swiss vitrified waste

A consignment of vitrified nuclear waste was shipped from

the Sellafield plant in England to Switzerland, passing

through France, which it entered via the port of Cherbourg on

14th September 2015. This consignment was taken by road

to the rail terminal in Valognes where the packages were

loaded onto rail wagons. The consignment left the country

on 18th September. It comprised three TN 81 packages,

each containing 28 CSD-V containers of vitrified waste.

These containers contain fission products in a glass matrix,

inside a metal container. The fission products are the

chemical bodies resulting from the fission of uranium in

nuclear reactors. They are extracted during reprocessing

of the spent nuclear fuel and constitute the ultimate waste

from the production of electricity using nuclear energy.

These wastes are high level, long-lived. The total activity

of the consignment is about 1.15x10

Bq, or an average

of 3.83x10

Bq per TN 81 package. These activity levels are

comparable to those of the packages containing spent fuels

taken from the French NPPs for shipment to the reprocessing

plant at La Hague. The TN 81 package model, designed by

the Areva TN company, has been approved by ASN.

ASN carried out an inspection on the safety of the

consignment on 15th September, at package transhipment in

the Valognes rail terminal. The inspectors were accompanied

by an inspector from the Swiss safety regulator, as well

as a team from IRSN, which took measurements on the

packages and then on the loaded wagons, in order to verify

compliance with the regulation limits for dose equivalent rate

and contamination. Two members of associations represented

on the High Committee for Transparency and Information on

Nuclear Security (HCTISN) attended a part of the inspection

They were able to observe the handling operations on the

TO BE NOTED

ASN transport inspection in Valognes - TN 81 type B fissile package,

used to transport vitrified waste, September 2015.

third package, as well as the radioactivity and contamination

measurements taken on this package and on the wagon

containing it.

The ASN inspection gave rise to a follow-up letter, which is

available on the ASN website. The inspectors considered that

the safety level of the transport operation was satisfactory,

but they nonetheless made three requests for corrective measures.

The measurements taken by IRSN produced values below

the regulation limits for the contamination levels and dose

equivalent rates.

4.2.6 Preparedness for emergency management

Emergency management is the final barrier in the

defence in depth system. In the event of an accident

involving transport, it should be able to minimise the

consequences for the public and the environment. In

order to reinforce the preparedness of the industry

(consignors and carriers) for emergency management,

ASN published a guide in December 2014 on the

content of accident and incident management plans

concerning the transport of radioactive substances. This

guide recommends the drafting of plans to prepare for

emergency management and stipulates the minimum

content of these plans.

In order to check correct application of this guide, ASN

carried out two inspections in 2015 on the topic of

preparedness for emergency situations. The inspectors

in particular looked at the organisation in place, the

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CHAPTER 11:

TRANSPORT OF RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

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