Considering HOF under accident conditions: IRSN assessment and R&D activities in France

In France, in the frame of the post-Fukushima stress-tests, a focus was made on the importance of social, organizational and human factors in emergency management operations. This paper deals with the first hours of an emergency, when the site has to face the situation without off-site support. IRSN assessed improvements implemented by licensees in context of stress-tests for all nuclear installations. This paper focuses on actions taken for NPPs: - assessment of the EdF methodology to determine the minimum staff to deal with a rare and severe situation on site: IRSN focused on the assumptions used especially for the worst-case scenarios, the definition of roles and responsibilities in context of specific work conditions and high workload for performing all actions. IRSN considered also the method used by EdF to verify the robustness of staffing (selection and training of individuals for specific job functions, and charging them with the associated responsibilities). Conclusions and recommendations aim at enhancing robustness to known scenarios and resilience to all type of situations. - assessment of actions taken by EdF to prepare its staff to manage such severe and stressful situation. It deals with the identification of relevant competencies, adequacy of training and preparedness (exercises, drill) provisions and validation of the efficiency of the whole system. In the meantime, R&D developments were initiated by IRSN in this field. The following topics have been selected: - sense-making process. Based on an analysis of the Fukushima accident, IRSN analyzed the ways people went about gathering information on the situation for making sense of what happened and found new ways to interpret limited information. It raised questions on development of resilience or ability to maintain cohesion within a group faced to a loss of meaning. - relationship between expertise and decision in an emergency situation. The review of literature established by IRSN mainly questions transmission of knowledge and awareness, communication and coordination between experts and decision-makers. Based on this review, IRSN starts a new research project which will be presented.- Tragic choices. During the emergency at Fukushima, the need to collectively reflect on ethical dilemmas that might emerge in such situations was emphasized. But a worker cannot be forced to perform a dangerous task. However, the voluntary principle is not sufficient to guide choices. IRSN is working on following questions: What ethical principles defining what is morally acceptable must we agree on? How should what is fair and acceptable be defined to select the plant workers who will be called upon to perform dangerous tasks? This project could provide help in the radiological protection decision-making process in dramatic situations. (author)