The Inspector General's report on Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection 2019

This report, written for the Chairman of EDF, gives his assessment of nuclear safety and radiation protection within the EDF Group. The report is also intended for all those in the company who contribute in any way to nuclear safety and radiation protection through their day-to- day actions and decisions. It will have achieved its purpose if it provides food for thought on their contributions in these areas. It also aims at identifying any early warning signs and recommending areas for improvement. It therefore focuses on difficulties and weaknesses rather than strengths and progress. Like each year, this report does not set out to cover all subjects. The number and length of the chapters are intentionally kept to a minimum to highlight the most important points. This report focuses on all matters within the EDF Group that contribute in any way to the safety of nuclear activities. This is particularly the case for engineering and operations in both France and the United Kingdom. It is, however, important to avoid making any hasty comparisons between these two fleets as the reactor technologies, fleet sizes and regulatory contexts differ. EDF Chairman's assessment is based on information gathered and observations made during the year, whether from workers in the field, or during visits to plants and meetings with the main stakeholders: staff representatives, members of the medical profession, contractors, etc. It also makes use of comparisons with other international players on the nuclear scene, and draws on dialogue with WANO and the nuclear safety regulators. Contents: 1 - Chairman's view; 2 - Operational nuclear safety; 3 - Increased complexity: detrimental to nuclear safety; 4 - Industrial safety and radiation protection; 5 - Key role of first-line managers; 6 - Nuclear fuel and reactivity control: the core of nuclear safety; 7 - Continuing the effort in natural hazard risk management; 8 - Emergency preparedness: a decade of improvements; 9 - Preparing for the future through research and innovation; 10 - Report by the General Inspectorate of Framatome; 11 - Appendices