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The decommissioning of these two installations was
authorised by Decrees of 30th June 2006. The initial
planned duration of these decommissioning operations
was about ten years. CEA has informed ASN that due to
the strong presumptions of radioactive contamination
underneath one of the buildings and unforeseen
difficulties, the decommissioning operations will be
extended at least until 2023 for the Procédé installation
and 2029 for the Support installation. CEA submitted an
authorisation application file in June 2015 tomodify the
Decrees of 30th June 2006, particularly with regard to
the decommissioning deadlines and the final state. The
Minister responsible for Nuclear Safety referred the case
to ASN for its decision on the admissibility of the file.
Furthermore, in application of ASN resolution of
2nd February 2012, CEA submitted a file in early 2013
with a view to revising the order regulating discharges in
order to update it and incorporate the decommissioning
operations. ASN’s examination of this file revealed serious
shortcomings. The file is still under examination and
will have to be supplemented to enable ASN to finalise
its decisions. The site’s on-site emergency plan is also
being examined.
ASN considers that the level of safety of CEA’s Fontenay-
aux-Roses installations has improved, particularly in the
control of the fire risk, but is nevertheless not entirely
satisfactory. The BNI licensee made a substantial effort
to formalise its organisational arrangements in 2015.
Nevertheless, ASN has observed that the interventions
carried out under the centre’s multi-technique contract
are not always controlled by CEA. ASNwill be particularly
attentive to consideration of human and organisational
factors in the progress plan that CEA is to implement
in 2016 and in the results of this plan.
2.2.2 The Grenoble centre
The Grenoble centre was inaugurated in January 1959.
Activities associated with the development of nuclear
reactors were carried out there before being gradually
transferred to other CEA centres in the 1980’s.
Now the Grenoble centre conducts its research and
development in the fields of renewable energies, health
andmicrotechnology. In 2002 the CEA centre inGrenoble
launched a site delicensing programme.
The site housed six nuclear facilities whichwere gradually
shut down and entered the decommissioning phase
with a view to their ultimate delicensing. Delicensing
of the Siloette reactor was declared in 2007, that of the
Mélusine reactor in 2011 and that of the Siloé reactor
in January 2015.
ASN considers that the safety of the decommissioning
and post-operational clean-out of the installations in the
Grenoble centre was on the whole satisfactory in 2015.
Radioactive effluent and solid waste Treatment
Station and Decay Storage facility (STED)
The final shutdown and decommissioning operations of
the STED(BNI 36) and the interimradioactivewaste decay
storage facility (BNI 79) were authorised by theDecree of
18th September 2008which prescribed a termof 8 years
for the completion of decommissioning activities.
All the buildings have beendestroyed in compliancewith
the above-mentionedDecree. Themain operations still to
be carried out concern the decontamination of the soil.
ThetechnicaldiscussionsbetweenASNandCEAconcerning
remediation of the soil of the STED (Effluent and Waste
Treatment Plant) continued in 2015. ASN asked CEA to
continue the remediationoperations that canbe technically
achieved for an economically acceptable cost.
Active Material Analysis Laboratory (LAMA)
This laboratory conducted post-irradiation studies
of uranium and plutonium based nuclear fuels, and
structural materials from nuclear reactors until 2002.
Decommissioning of the LAMAwas authorisedbyDecree
on 18th September 2008.
2015 saw completion of the LAMA clean-out and waste
zoningdelicensingoperations.CEAsubmitteditsdelicensing
application file for the BNI in March 2015.
Siloé reactor
Siloé is anold research reactor usedmainly for technological
irradiation of structural materials and nuclear fuels.
CEA was authorised to carry out the decommissioning
operations by Decree of 26th January 2005. The work
was completed in 2013. Delicensing of the waste zoning
of the Siloé BNI was declared in 2014. The Siloé BNI 20
was delicensed by resolution of 9th January 2015.
2.2.3 The Cadarache centre installations
undergoing decommissioning
Rapsodie reactor and Fuel Assembly Shearing
Laboratory (LDAC)
The experimental reactor Rapsodie is the first sodium-
cooled fast neutron reactor built in France. It functioned
until 1978. A reactor vessel sealing defect led to its final
shutdown in 1983.
Decommissioning operations have beenundertaken since
then but were partly stopped further to a fatal accident
(explosion) that occurred in 1994 when washing out a
sodiumtank. At present, the corehasbeenunloaded, the fuel
evacuated fromthe installation, the fluids and radioactive
components have been removed and the reactor vessel
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CHAPTER 15:
SAFE DECOMMISSIONING OF BASIC NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015