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The issue of long-termmanagement of spent fuel, mining
residues anddepleteduranium is examined taking account
of the unforeseen variables and uncertainties attached to
these industrial choices. In the short andmedium terms,
ASN intends to ensure that saturation of the spent fuel
storage capacities in the NPPs or in the Areva La Hague
pools – as has been observed in other countries – is
anticipated and prevented by the licensees. The aim is
to avoid the licensees using old facilities with a lower
level of safety as an interim measure. ASN is assisted in
this approach by theMinistry in charge of Energy, which
it consults in particular to obtain information relative to
materials traffic, industrial constraints that could affect
safety, or energy policy guidelines. In order to maintain
an overall and constantly appropriate view of the fuel
cycle, these data must be periodically updated. ASN
therefore periodically asks that together with the fuel
cycle companies, EDF provide elements to demonstrate
compatibility between changes in fuel characteristics
and fuel management and developments in fuel cycle
installations. Moreover, for any new utilisation of fuel,
EDFmust demonstrate that it has no unacceptable effect
on the fuel cycle installations.
In 2015, ASN therefore asked EDF to conduct an overall
review of the “Cycle impact” file be carried out for 2016.
The aim is to
“obtain a robust long-term overview of the
developments which could affect all fuel cycle activities and
the consequences of these developments on facilities and
transports.”
The period covered by the study will be
from January 2016 to December 2030 and it will need
to identify the limit thresholds (capacity saturation, fuel
isotope limit reached, etc.) foreseeable up until 2040.
This file will be required to show that the changes in fuel
characteristics or in irradiated fuel management and the
developments to the fuel cycle facilities envisaged by
the industrial players concerned will in no respect be
unacceptable, over the coming fifteen years, whether
with regard to the operation of the NPPs, the operation
of the front-end and back-end plants in the cycle or
the medium and long-term management of the waste.
It shall also demonstrate long-term management of
traffic and stocks of materials, fuels and waste and
anticipate difficulties or contingencies in the operation
of the fuel cycle.
EDF considers that available capacity can guarantee
storage of spent fuels for at least the next ten years, but
cannot make any commitment thereafter, stating that
this problem of spent fuel storage capacity saturation is
being examined in another context, that of the “Cycle
impact” file, which will be transmitted by EDF in 2016
at the request of ASN. Given the anticipated time-frame
for saturation of spent fuel storage capacity and given
the time needed to design and build such a facility, ASN
draws
“the attention [of EDF] to the prospect of saturation
of French spent fuel storage capacity”
and asks EDF
“in the
next update of the file to present [its] strategy concerning
this subject and the various contingencies associated with
the creation of new storage capacity”.
In the light of the
information at its disposal, ASN stated that
“transmission
of a Safety Options File (DOS) by EDF within a period of 12
to 18months is necessary”
in order to create such capacity.
The overall revision of the “Cycle impact” file currently
being drafted comprises a number of innovations with
respect to the previous approaches initiated in 1999
and 2006:
•
The study period, which habitually covered ten years,
is increased to fifteen years, in order to take account
of the time actually observed in the nuclear industry
to design and build any new facilities identified as
being necessary further to the assessment carried out.
•
Radioactive substances transport contingencies are
explicitly incorporated into the assessment.
•
Nuclear reactor closures are studied for the period of
time considered, in particular assuming stable electricity
demand until 2025, to take account of the planning
provisions included in the Energy Transition for Green
Growth Act.
•
The strategy for managing and storing spent fuels
pending reprocessing or disposal is part of the scope
of the assessment. Saturation of existing capacity is in
fact highly probable during the period in question.
4. ASN INTERNATIONAL ACTIONS
ASN enjoys regular discussions with its foreign
counterparts to share best practices for regulating the
nuclear safety of fuel cycle facilities.
Bilateral relations with the British safety regulator,
the ONR (Office for Nuclear Regulation), were less
frequent in 2015 but discussions should be held in 2016
concerning the recovery and packaging of legacy waste
on the La Hague and Sellafield sites. Discussions on
criticality control practices could also be held in 2016.
ASN also took part in a workshop by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concerning themonitoring
of the ageing of fuel cycle facilities, involving a comparison
of international practices in this field.
ASN also held discussions with the American safety
regulator, the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission),
on monitoring the commissioning of MOX production
facilities, onmonitoring fuel reprocessing facilities and,
more particularly, preventing the explosion risk linked
to “red oils” in these facilities.
On other matters, ASN had preliminary contacts with
its Chinese counterpart with a view to the construction
in China of a facility comparable to that of La Hague.
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CHAPTER 13:
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE INSTALLATIONS
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015