508 / 536
More than five years after the operation started, experience
feedback shows that it is relatively well accepted by the
occupants and environmental protection associations.
The vast majority of the premises diagnosed are clear of
radiological contamination. The contamination levels
recorded are low and confirm that there is no health
risk; the maximum dosimetry received is less than
2.4 mSv/ year (added value), which is approximately
the same order of magnitude as the dose received per
year by the French population from naturally occurring
sources of radioactivity.
The engagement of further diagnosis operations has been
suspended in Ile-de-France since March 2014 at the
request of the Ministry responsible for the Environment,
in order more specifically to modify the conditions
of performance of the operation. ASN would like the
diagnoses to be resumed rapidly in order to finalise the
operation in Ile-de-France and start diagnoses in other
regions. ASN considersmoreover that ambitious treatment
targets must be maintained for the contaminated sites.
2.3 ASN’s international action
in the management of contaminated
sites and soils
ASN has participated since 2012 in the meetings of
the International Working Forum on Regulatory
Supervision of Legacy Sites (RSLS)
8
organised by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The aim
of this forum is to promote interchanges between the
various organisations responsible for regulating and
monitoring “legacy sites” in order to identify the sites’
needs in terms of management andmeans for preventing
the creation of future “legacy sites”.
Moreover, ASN contributes to the work carried out
under the CIDER project (Constraints to Implementing
Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation
programmes) initiated in 2012 by the IAEA. This project
aims to identify the main difficulties that contracting
parties can encounter, particularly in site rehabilitation,
and propose aids to overcome them.
In 2015, ASN continued its collaborationwith the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA),
tasked with managing the “Superfund” programme to
protect American citizens against the risks associated
with sites polluted by abandoned or unmonitored
hazardous waste and particularly sites contaminated
by radioactive substances.
8. International forum on the regulations for sites contaminated by
radionuclides, presenting a risk for health and/or the environment
and which are a subject of concern for the Authorities.
3. OUTLOOK
ASNbroadly considers that the French radioactive waste
management system, based on a specific body of legislative
and regulatory texts, a National Plan for theManagement
of Radioactive Materials and Waste (PNGMDR) and an
Agency dedicated to themanagement of radioactivewaste
(Andra) that is independent from the waste producers,
is capable of regulating and implementing a structured
and coherent national waste management policy. ASN
considers that theremust eventually be safemanagement
for all waste, more specifically by means of a disposal
solution. Updating of the PNGMDRwhich is planned for
2016 will provide the opportunity to set new short- and
medium-term objectives to achieve this goal.
The regulations concerning the management
of radioactive waste
ASN will finalise the resolution relative to the packing
of radioactive waste in 2016. It will draw up draft
resolutions concerning radioactive waste disposal and
storage facilities and a draft guide to application of the
resolution concerning waste studies. These draft texts will
be made available for consultation by the stakeholders
and the public in 2016. ASNwill also finalise the guide
to application of the resolution concerning the waste
management study and the assessment of the waste
produced in the BNIs.
ASN will also be vigilant in ensuring that the work to
transpose Directive 2013/59/Euratom of 5th December
2013 setting basic radiation protection standards does
not call into question the French policy in which there
are no clearance levels for waste from basic nuclear
installations while at the same time reinforcing oversight
of waste containing enhanced natural radioactivity.
Concerning licensee waste management strategies
ASN periodically assesses the strategies implemented
by the licensees to ensure that each type of waste has an
appropriatemanagement route and that the different routes
aremutually coherent. ASN in particular remains attentive
to ensuring that the licensees have the necessary treatment
or storage capacity for managing their radioactive waste
and anticipate sufficiently far in advance the construction
of new facilities or renovationwork on older facilities. In
2016, ASN will continue to closely monitor the legacy
waste or spent fuel retrieval and packaging operations,
focusing on those presenting the most significant safety
implications.
Inthisrespect,ASNwillgivetheconclusionsofitsassessment
of EDF’swastemanagement strategy and receive thewaste
management strategies of CEA and Areva in 2016.
ASNwill be attentive to ensuring that CEAmeets its final
shutdown commitments concerning its old facilitieswhich
no longer complywith safety requirements, andparticularly
its decommissioning file submission schedule (BNI 56
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CHAPTER 16:
RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND CONTAMINATED SITES AND SOILS
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015