Complementary safety assessments: AREVA submits its reports to the French Nuclear Safety Authority

On Thursday, 15 September, AREVA submitted its complementary safety assessment reports to the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN). The ASN’s request was part of a European-wide nuclear facility auditing programme that was initiated after the March 11 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan following two major natural disasters. 

Four of the AREVA group’s sites in France have completed an assessment: the used fuel treatment plant at La Hague, the MELOX recycled fuel fabrication plant, some of the facilities at the Tricastin site and the FBFC fuel fabrication site in Romans. 

In May, AREVA’s teams began this analysis and reporting operation under the conditions recommended by the ASN. The reports respond to each of the items in the specifications, e.g.:  

• A site-by-site inventory with particular attention to the facilities’ safety-related design features,
• The establishment of serious accident scenarios related to extreme natural beyond-design-basis events (earthquakes, floods and other extreme climatic events) ranging upwards to the total loss of the electrical supply and the cooling system,
• An analysis of the facilities’ ability to withstand these extreme scenarios,
• An analysis of the emergency resources immediately available in the event of a serious accident,
• The terms and conditions for the use of outside service companies. 

These reports will now be analysed by the ASN with the support of the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). The ASN’s conclusions are scheduled to be made public in late November, 2011.

The process of collecting in-depth operating feedback from the Fukushima Daiichi accident will take several years. AREVA will conduct complementary assessments on its nuclear facilities and will incorporate all useful safety-related feedback.