Universal Registration Document 2022

5C – Nuclear safety violations during operation resulting in nuclear civil liability

a) Context

The primary responsibility for nuclear safety lies with the nuclear operator throughout the operating cycle of nuclear reactors. This principle, along with the principle of control, is reaffirmed in the EDF group’s nuclear safety policy. Liability as a nuclear operator falls under the “nuclear safety, health and security” aspect of the Group’s CSR policy (section 3.3.1 “Security, Health & Safety for all”). The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer delegates this responsibility to the Group Senior Executive Vice-President, Nuclear and Thermal and the Group Senior Executive Vice-President, New Nuclear Projects and Engineering, who then sub-delegate it to the Directors of the Divisions involved, who in turn sub-delegate it to the Unit Managers.

b) Main risks

Control of nuclear safety

The top priority is nuclear safety, as defined in the Group’s Nuclear Safety Policy, and this is a factor in the industrial performance of the nuclear business as a whole. Nuclear safety takes into account the design by the nuclear operator and the operation by the designer. Failure to control operating safety could have major or even vital consequences on the value of the Group’s industrial assets, its financial position and its development outlook, or even on the continuation of its industrial activity.

Any serious event related to the Group’s nuclear activities, with a potential or proven impact on the population, the environment or on a territory, could lead to a significant increase in the operating constraints of the Group’s industrial sites, or even the partial or total interruption of the Group’s nuclear activities. Such an event could have a significant negative impact on the Group’s activities, financial position, strategy and reputation.

Nuclear civil liability

The nuclear civil liability scheme that applies to nuclear facility operators of States, which are parties to the Paris Convention, and the insurance applicable thereto, are described in section 2.1.3.7 (“Insurance”). This scheme is based on the principle of the operator’s strict liability. Accordingly, if an event occurs that causes nuclear damage, the Group would be automatically liable up to a monetary maximum set by the law applicable in the country, regardless of the source of the event that caused the damage and any safety measures that may have been taken.

In countries where the Group operates nuclear facilities, statutory liability limits may be increased or repealed. For example, the protocols amending the Paris Convention and the Brussels Convention, in force since 1 January 2022, provide for these maximum amounts to be increased and a substantial expansion of the loss to be covered. The operator’s liability in France amounts to €700 million for nuclear damage caused by each nuclear accident, and €80 million in the event of transport of nuclear substances for a given nuclear accident. The entry into force of the other amendments introduced in these protocols is likely to further increase the cost of insurance, and insurance covering this liability may not always be available or maintained. Insurance coverage for the Group’s nuclear operator’s civil liability and for the transport of nuclear substances is described in section 2.1.3.7 “Insurance”.

Property damage to EDF’s nuclear facilities is covered by insurance programmes (see section 2.1.3.7 “Insurance”). Despite this cover, any event that may cause significant damage to a nuclear facility of the Group could have an adverse impact on the Group’s business and financial position.

Lastly, the Group cannot guarantee that the insurers that cover both its liability as a nuclear plant operator and property damage to its facilities will always have available capacity or that the costs of cover will not significantly increase, particularly in light of the impacts on the insurance market of events such as the nuclear accident in Japan that occurred in March 2011.

c) Control actions

In view of these risks, and pursuant to the Group’s policy, each Group company operating nuclear facilities acts within the framework of legal and regulatory requirements specific to the country in which it operates and is obliged to comply with them. Each one ensures the nuclear safety of its facilities and constantly improves the level of this safety, based on its methods, skills and values. The Group develops ordinary principles aiming to obtain the best level of prevention of incidents and protection of workers, the public and the environment. These principles apply to all stages of the activity, both for new projects and for the existing power plants or sites being decommissioned. The Group closely involves its industrial partners in the achievement of these objectives.

Each company is responsible for the proper conduct of its nuclear activities and sets the appropriate delegations at each decision and action level. The Group guarantees the allocation of the necessary resources for nuclear safety.

An internal entity in charge of an independent safety evaluation is put in place at the level of each site, each company and of the Group. Each one reports to the manager concerned, independently of other managerial functions; furthermore, each one has the duty to alert the superior hierarchical level if the reaction of the level directly involved is not what is expected.

The Group’s nuclear operating companies regularly receive international evaluation teams (WANO ⁽¹⁾, Peer Review and OSART from the IAEA ⁽²⁾).

Clear and honest information communication on the events and their possible impacts are promoted within the Group. This high standard of dialogue is sought and maintained with the salaried personnel and their representatives, subcontractors, the supervisory authorities (Nuclear Safety Authority in France, Office for Nuclear Regulation in the United Kingdom), local government and all other nuclear safety stakeholders.

The Nuclear Safety Council, which the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDF chairs, meets several times a year and, periodically reviews the annual assessment of nuclear safety for the EDF group. A General Inspector for nuclear safety and radiation protection (IGSNR) is appointed by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer to whom he/she reports. He/she carries out inspection assignments regarding all of the nuclear activities of the EDF group. Each year, he/she issues an opinion on safety within EDF. The report is presented to and discussed by the Nuclear Safety Council. It is then made public (see section 1.4.1.1.4.3 “Nuclear facilities and safety”).