France - Convention on Nuclear Safety. Fourth National Report Issued for the 2008 Peer Review Meeting

The Convention on Nuclear Safety, hereinafter referred to as 'the Convention', is one of the results of international discussions initiated in 1992 with the aim of proposing binding international obligations regarding nuclear safety. France signed the Convention on 20 September 1994, the date on which it was opened for signature during the IAEA's General Conference, and approved it on 13 September 1995. The Convention entered into force on 24 October 1996. For many years France has been participating actively in international initiatives to enhance nuclear safety, and it considers the Convention on Nuclear Safety to be an important instrument for achieving this aim. The areas covered by the Convention have long been part of the French approach to nuclear safety. This report, the fourth of its kind, is issued in compliance with Article 5 of the Convention on Nuclear Safety and presents the measures taken by France to fulfil each of the obligations of the Convention. As such, the Convention on Nuclear Safety applies to nuclear power reactors, and so most of this report deals with measures taken to ensure their safety. However, in this fourth report, as in the third, France has decided to include the measures taken concerning all research reactors, with a graded approach tailored to their size where appropriate. First of all, research reactors are subject to the same general regulations as nuclear power reactors with regard to nuclear safety and radiation protection. Furthermore, the most powerful research reactor also generates electricity. Secondly, in the reports under the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, to which France is a party, the measures taken for research reactors in these areas have been described. Finally, in March 2004 the IAEA Board of Governors, on which France has a seat, approved the Code of Conduct on the Safety of Research Reactors, which incorporates most of the stipulations of the present Convention. This report was produced by ASN, the French nuclear safety authority, which coordinated the work on it, with contributions from IRSN (Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety) and from nuclear reactor licensees, Electricite de France (EDF), the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and the Laue-Langevin institute (ILL). The final version was completed in July 2007 after consultation with the French parties concerned. For this report, France has taken account of the experience acquired with the three previous editions: it is a stand-alone report based mainly on existing documents and reflecting the viewpoints of the various stakeholders (regulatory authority and licensees). Thus, for each of the chapters in which the regulatory authority is not the only party to express its point of view, a three-part structure has been adopted: first a description of the regulations by the regulatory authority, followed by a presentation by the licensees of the steps taken to comply with the regulations, and finally an analysis by the regulatory authority of the steps taken by the licensees. The report is structured according to the guidelines for national reports, as modified during the 2002 peer review meeting. The presentation is made 'article by article', each being the subject of a separate chapter, at the beginning of which the corresponding text of the Convention article is reproduced in a shadow box. This introduction presents the main changes since the third national report and France's nuclear power policy. Part A deals with the general provisions (articles 4 to 6). Part B summarises the legislation and regulations (articles 7 to 9). Part C is devoted to general safety considerations (articles 10 to 16). Part D discusses the safety of the installations (articles 17 to 19). The conclusion outlines future trends in the field of nuclear safety in France, including measures for international cooperation. The report is supplemented by a number of appendices. The main changes between this report and the previous one are summarised for each chapter in chapter 2 of this report