1. The Group, its strategy and activities

Industrial work will continue beyond 2025 on the occasion of the third and, if needed, fourth series of ten-year inspections of 1,300MW units, the fourth series often-year inspections of 900MW units and the second and third series of ten-year inspections of N4 units. This programme provides the opportunity to incorporate the additional safety improvements identified following the Fukushima accident as well as modifications allowing the operation of facilities to be extended significantly beyond 40 years, in line with the multi-year energy programme (see sections 1.4.1.1.5 “Preparing for the future of the nuclear fleet in France” and 1.5.1.2 “Public service in France”).

1.4.1.1.3 Environment, nuclear safety, radiation protection
Environmental protection

EDF bases its environmental procedure on an ISO 14001-certified SME environmental management system (see section 3.1.2.4.2 “The environmental management system(EMS)”), rolled out in 2002 at a number of sites and then extended to all nuclear generation units.

In terms of radioactive waste management, Very Low-Level Waste (VLLW) has been removed to the Morvilliers storage facility in the Aube (CIRES) since 2004. There is a storage facility at Soulaines, Aube (CSA) for Low and Intermediate-Level radioactive Waste (LLW and ILW). EDF is continuing work to reduce the quantities in question and improve processing, in collaboration with the Centraco factory (Cyclife France, a subsidiary of the EDF group).

For a description of radioactive waste processing downstream of the fuel cycle as well as decommissioning, see sections 1.4.1.1.4 “The nuclear fuel cycle and related issues” and 1.4.1.1.6 “Decommissioning of nuclear power plants”.

An ever-present nuclear safety procedure

EDF, in its capacity as a nuclear operator, takes responsibility for nuclear safety and, in a rapidly-changing context (market competition, environmental issues, etc.), reaffirms as its absolute priority the protection of the human and environmental health, among other things, through the prevention of accidents and the limiting of their consequences as regards nuclear safety. Moreover, the Codified Law of 13 June 2006 on nuclear transparency and safety (see section 1.5 “Legislative and regulatory environment”) grants public access to information regarding in particular the nuclear safety measures taken by the operator and establishes a formal basis for transparency on nuclear safety.

The implementation of the French nuclear power programme led EDF to establish a safety procedure that:

  • takes into account, from the design stage, the risks that might arise during the operation of the power plants, whether relating to the actual operation of the facilities or to internal or external attacks;
  • is based both on the application of strict rules of operation, and on the cautious and inquiring attitude of the technical teams by means of the establishment of a true safety culture;
  • is based on the cumulative experience of a standardised fleet of 58 reactors (i.e.more than 2,030 reactor-years of operation, the arithmetic sum of years of operation of EDF’s pressurised water reactor [PWR]);
  • incorporates a continuous improvement approach that is notably embodied by the ongoing efforts to decrease the number of automatic reactor trips;
  • benefits from integrated nuclear engineering and Research & Development within the Group in order to anticipate the correction of failures, maintain the facilities in good working order, develop equipment on an ongoing basis, reassess safety margins and monitor technology advances, as well as the implementation of more effective new technologies and the management of sites being decommissioned;
  • relies strongly on the development of skills; with this objective in mind, each nuclear generation site is equipped with a simulator used for training to cope with any type of situation.

Nuclear safety is subject to numerous controls, both internal and external.

  • EDF has implemented internal control procedures. For example, every three to four years, EDF performs overall safety assessments for each nuclear power plant, which take place over a three-week period and involve approximately 30 inspectors. In addition, the General Inspector for nuclear safety and radiation protection, reporting to and appointed by EDF’s Chairman and CEO, performs annual audits, issues an opinion on the overall safety of the nuclear fleet and suggests improvement actions to the Company’s management. Efforts by EDF, notably to improve human performance, have made it possible to decrease the annual average number of automatic reactor trips in recent years, and do so by a factor of four over a period of 16 years to the end of 2018. However, in 2019, they totalled 31 throughout the fleet;
  • the external control of the safety of nuclear facilities in France is carried out by the ASN:
    • at the national level, there are two types of inspections;
      • scheduled or unannounced inspections carried out by the ASN (about 400 inspections in 2019 over all EDF nuclear facilities);
      • a periodic (ten-year) review process designed to improve the compliance of nuclear plants with applicable rules and update assessments of the risks facilities pose to the environment and public health, taking into account the state of the facilities, the experience gained during their operation, new developments in nuclear science, and rules applying to similar facilities. The targets are established by the ASN which monitors compliance; EDF proposes solutions to meet these targets and implements them after obtaining the approval of the ASN (see section 1.4.1.1.1 “EDF’s nuclear fleet in France”). The periodic review is an important step in continuing the operation of power plants (see sections 1.4.1.1.5 “Preparing for the future of the nuclear fleet in France” and 1.5.3.2 “Specific regulations applicable to basic nuclear facilities”);
    • at the international level, regular inspections are held making it possible to share the experience gained worldwide:
      • the OSART (Operational Safety Review Team) of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) performs reviews at the request of the French government with the objective of formulating recommendations and promoting best practices. In particular, EDF’s first Corporate OSART was held in 2014 and concluded that EDF is fully compliant with the standards defined by the IAEA; the Follow Up Corporate OSART took place at the end of 2016. An OSART review took place in 2019 in Civaux;
      • the international “peer review” inspections carried out by the WANO (World Association of Nuclear Operators) are organised at the request of EDF to assess safety performance compared to best international working practices. A Corporate Peer Review took place in 2017, aimed at assessing the mode of governance and relations between corporate HQ and the facilities. Following the Corporate Peer Review, WANO identified two best practices and issued four recommendations giving rise to an action plan. In 2019, there were six Follow Up reviews and three peer reviews (Nogent, Dampierre and Cruas).
Whistleblowing system

In the event of an accident, a crisis plan is in place to limit impacts on the environment and people, and to ensure the safety of the facility. This crisis system is based on two closely coordinated plans, designed for both local and national use.

These are:

  • the Internal Emergency Plan for each nuclear site, developed by EDF;
  • the Special Intervention Plan, prepared by French prefectures in collaboration with the French government and EDF.

In order to provide greater effectiveness and thus improved protection of populations, these plans in particular take into account external risks (flooding…) and internal risks (fire…). The relevance of the system for warning, informing and protecting people is regularly assessed through accident simulation exercises. Each year, approximately 100 exercises are organised for the entire French nuclear fleet, i.e., approximately one drill every three days. Approximately ten exercises are on a national level, under the management of the ASN and involve EDF and the public authorities, in particular the prefectures. In 2019, 12 drills with a national scope were organised, one of which was postponed until 28 January 2020, at the request of the Prefect. The most recent national-scale exercise pertaining to the physical protection of facilities (a security crisis) was conducted in 2017 (the next drill will take place in 2020).