Moreover, criminal law penalties have been established to punish BNF operators who do not comply with their legal and regulatory obligations, such as a three-year prison sentence and a €150,000 fine if a BNF is operated without authorisation, or a one-year prison sentence and a €30,000 fine if radioactive substances are transported without authorisation or approval.
The provisions of the French Environment Code concerning BNF have also introduced mechanisms for informing the authorities and the public. In this respect, all accidents and incidents that occur as a result of the operation of a BNF and that could potentially cause significant harm to the health of the population or to the environment, must be declared as soon as possible by the operator to the ASN and to the relevant administrative authority.
Bodies have also been set up to inform the public, for example the Haut Comité pour la transparence et l’information sur la sécurité nucléaire (High Committee for Transparency and Information on Nuclear Safety) and any member of the public may now contact operators directly for information on the risks associated with exposure to ionising radiation and on the safety and radiation protection measures adopted to prevent or reduce these risks. Finally, Local Information Committees have been set up at each nuclear power plant to monitor, inform and consult on nuclear safety, radiation protection and the impact of nuclear activities on people and the environment.
The decommissioning of a BNF is prescribed by a Decree that is issued after a public enquiry and an opinion by the NSA. The Decree specifies the decommissioning operations and stages and how long they will last along with the intended final status. Once the decommissioning has been completed, the operator must send a delicensing request to the NSA, describing the post-decommissioning condition of the site and the soil, following which the facilities will cease to have BNF status, if decided by the NSA and approved by the relevant Minister. Article L. 593-25 of the French Environment Code, introduced by the Energy Transition for Green Growth Law Of 17 August 2015, gave legislative value to the principle implemented since the early 2000s by EDF according to which decommissioning must take place within a timeframe that is “as short as possible” after final shutdown, under conditions that are economically acceptable and in compliance with the principles set out in Article L. 1333-2 of the French Public Health Code and section II of Article L. 110-1 of the French Environment Code.
The management and financing of decommissioning and radioactive waste and EDF business is subject to French regulations on the sustainable management of radioactive waste. EDF is liable for the radioactive waste generated from its operations, as the producer of the waste. In France, radioactive waste is managed by the National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA), a public institution of industrial and commercial nature created by Law no. 91-1381 of 30 December 1991 on research into the management of radioactive waste.
The method used to manage radioactive waste in France depends on the level of radioactivity and on the radioactivity lifespan of the waste (see section 1.4.1.1.4 “The nuclear fuel cycle and related issues”). The management of radioactive and non-radioactive waste is governed by Article L. 541-1 et seq. of the French Environment Code; specific provisions relating to the sustainable management of radioactive material and waste are also set out in Article L. 542-1 et seq. of the same code. Operators of BNFs are also subject to the provisions of the Order of 7 February 2012, known as the “BNF” Order, establishing “potential nuclear waste production areas” for which special procedures must be used to manage the waste, and the regulatory requirements associated with the national plan for the management of radioactive material and radioactive waste (PNGMDR), which is revised every three years. Financial provisions are set out in Article L. 594-1 et seq. of the French Environment Code, defining the arrangements for assessing and covering the costs of decommissioning BNFs, managing spent fuel and radioactive waste and off-site transportation costs. In particular, the assets allocated to cover provisions cannot be used for any other purpose by the operator, and separate accounting procedures for these assets must be used. The implementation of these provisions is overseen by the administrative authority, i.e. the Ministry in charge of energy, which is itself subject to a National Commission to Assess the Financing of the Charges related to the Decommissioning of BNFs and the Management of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste
Decree no. 2007-243 of 23 February 2007 on securing the financing of costs in the nuclear industry sets forth the terms and conditions for implementing Article L. 594-1 et seq. of the French Environment Code.
A report is filed with the administrative authorities and the ASN every three years and a copy sent to the Statutory Auditors. This report includes, in particular, a valuation of the costs, the methods used for the calculation of provisions, and the decisions made regarding composition and management of the assets. The administrative authorities may require any additional supporting documents, have an outside organisation conduct a study, or require an expert valuation of the assets at the operator’s expense.
Directive 2011/70/Euratom establishing a Community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, transposed into French Law by Order no. 2016-128 of 10 February 2016 laying down various provisions on nuclear matters, constitutes a set of fundamental rules for the management of radioactive waste and spent fuel for the member states of the European Union, based in particular on the principles of minimisation of the volume and harmfulness of the radioactive waste produced and protection of human health, safety and the environment. This text presents, in particular, deep geological disposal as the safest and most sustainable option to manage Long-Lived, High-Level Waste and considers the possibility of creating disposal facilities shared between several Member States, on a voluntary basis.
In France, nuclear activities that present a risk of exposing persons to ionising radiation are regulated by two separate sets of rules, depending on the category of persons to be protected. Regulations on the basic protection of the population against such radiation, which are governed by the French Public Health Code, are primarily based on all nuclear activities being subject to a declaration, registration or authorisation. Authorisations granted to establish a Basic Nuclear Facility serve as the authorisation required under the French Public Health Code. Article R. 1333-11 of the French Public Health Code sets the maximum exposure level of the general public at 1 mSv per year.
French regulations on the protection of workers against the dangers of ionising radiation, which are governed by the French Labour Code, lay down various obligations for employers of workers who are likely to be exposed and, in particular, set a limit on exposure of workers to ionising radiation at 20 mSv over a period of twelve consecutive months.
The French Health Code contains the provisions applicable to controlling high-level sealed radioactive sources and orphan sources.
The radiation protection regulations are the transposition into French law of Directive2013/59/Euratom of 5 December 2013 in the above-mentioned Order no. 2016-128 of 10 February 2016, in two decrees of 4 June 2018 and their implementing orders, some of which have yet to be published.
Several international conventions govern the civil liability of nuclear facility operators, in particular the Paris Convention of 29 July 1960 on Third-Party Liability in the Field Of Nuclear Energy and the Brussels Convention of 31 January 1963, which supplements the Paris Convention. These two conventions are applicable in the signatory countries that have ratified them, including France and the United Kingdom (see also section 2.1.2.6 “Insurance - Specific insurance for nuclear facility operations”). France is also a Party to the Joint Protocol Relating to the Application Of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention, which establishes a link between the Paris Convention, which covers countries in Western Europe, and the Vienna Convention of 21 May 1963 on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, which covers (among others) countries in Eastern Europe.
The Paris Convention introduced a special liability system for nuclear damage to persons and property, which is strict (even in the absence of fault), limited in terms of the amount and duration, and is exclusively focused on the operator of the nuclear facility.
In France, the operator’s liability was set to €700 million per nuclear accident at a facility and to €70 million per nuclear accident during transport. Over and above the maximum amount for which the operator is liable, the State in which the incident occurred is responsible for compensating victims up to a maximum of €217.4 million(provided that said State is a Contracting State of the Brussels Convention); over and above this amount, Member States that have ratified the Brussels Convention(including France) contribute collectively to compensation up to a limit of€372.6 million.
The Convention also provides that the operator has an obligation to take out insurance or lodge a financial guarantee for the liability amounts established in order to guarantee the availability of funds. The Minister for the Economy monitors French operators’ compliance with this obligation. EDF complies with the current coverage requirements (see section 2.1.2.6 “Insurance”).
