Implications for general practice

B. POUBEAU,

Autorité de sûreté nucléaire, France

Email: [email protected] Abstract

The organization adopted by France for the oversight of nuclear safety and radiation protection is built around an authority, ASN, with a main technical support organization, IRSN. It can also call on other expert bodies to deal with particular subjects. ASN oversees technical investigations, to which IRSN contributes its own expert assessments. The first part will present a reminder of the legislative and regulatory framework, in particular ASN’s role with regard to the IRSN, fundamental framework documents such as the ASN-IRSN convention and the annual protocols defining the expertise priorities, the organization and the methods for exchanges between the two entities and the formalization of ASN’s appraisal of the quality of IRSN’s expert assessments. ASN will underline the high-level quality of technical support works provided by IRSN. The role recently entrusted to ASN concerning nuclear safety and radiation protection research orientations and the implications of this role for relations with the TSO will also be examined. The second part will mention a few of the issues linked to the relation ASN-IRSN:

- The need to reinforce the evaluation of the IRSN (topic identified by the IRRS mission in November 2014).

- The respective positions in the management of emergency situations, as both ASN and the TSO provide the public authorities with support.

- The search for improved efficiency and synergy in their actions on behalf of nuclear safety and radiation protection.

- Reinforcement of ASN’s role with respect to the IRSN as a member of the Board of Directors with the ability to influence the choice of strategic orientations.

The conclusion will be illustrated by some of the broad outlines of the ASN multi-year strategic plan as well as the prospects for greater collaboration at European level between authorities and between TSOs when conducting expert assessments.

1. INTRODUCTION

Oversight of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France is ensured by ASN (Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire), the French nuclear regulator, which has had the status of an independent administrative authority since 2006. To guide its decisions and resolutions, ASN consults internal and external experts whenever necessary. However, its main technical support organisation (TSO) is IRSN, the French Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, a public body with industrial and commercial activities, which exercises expert assessment and research functions in the fields of radiation protection, nuclear safety and protection against malicious acts.

The extent of the relations between ASN and IRSN is reflected in a number of figures. Out of a total budget of

€216 M in 2017, IRSN devoted €85 M to technical support for ASN, which corresponds to the work of about 400 of the institute's 1700 employees. By way of comparison, ASN's own budget for 2017 was about €84 M for a headcount of slightly over 500 employees. During the year 2017, IRSN provided ASN with more than 500 opinions or reports and accompanied some 300 ASN inspections (out of a total of about 1800). In addition to this, IRSN fulfils other recurrent missions in the areas of training, experience feedback analysis, preparation of meetings of the Advisory Committees of Experts placed under the authority of ASN, and participation in emergency exercises. In view of the extremely close ties between the two entities, an extensive system of coordination, communication, cooperation and appraisal has been put in place.

2. THE FRAMEWORK GOVERNING EXPERT ASSESSMENT REQUESTS 2.1 Legislative and regulatory framework

Created in 2006 through the TSN Act relative to transparency and security in the nuclear field, ASN is an independent administrative authority which participates in the oversight of nuclear safety, radiation protection and nuclear activities (in the medical, industrial, veterinary and research sectors). Its missions consist in regulating, licensing, inspecting, assisting the public authorities in emergency situation management, contributing to informing of the various audiences and to ensuring transparency in its areas of competence. In

addition, Ordinance 2016-128 of 10th February 2016 introducing various provisions concerning nuclear activities gave ASN competence with regard to the identification of research needs in nuclear safety and radiation protection.

IRSN was created by Act 2001-398 of 9th May 2001 and by Decree 2002-254 of 22nd February 2002 within the framework of the national reform of the oversight of nuclear safety and radiation protection with a view to pooling public expert assessment and research resources in these areas. These texts have since been modified, more specifically by Act 2015-992 of 17th August 2015 relative to Energy Transition for Green Growth and Decree 2016-283 of 10th March 2016 relative to the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety.

IRSN is placed under the authority of the Ministers responsible for the Environment, Defence, Energy, Research, and Health.

IRSN's dual mission of research and expertise is a factor that contributes to the technical excellence of the IRSN opinions.

2.2 Documents underpinning the ASN-IRSN relationship

The collaboration between ASN and IRSN is governed by a five-year agreement, several framework documents and an annual protocol.

The agreement, renewed in 2017 to take into account the latest regulatory changes in particular, establishes the field in which ASN can call upon the expertise of IRSN. It defines the type of actions carried out for ASN and sets the procedures for coordinating and monitoring these actions. One article specifically addresses the joint communication strategy, insofar as IRSN publishes all its opinions. It also broaches the financial issues, insofar as ASN awards grants to IRSN. Framework documents drawn up by type of action or by technical domain clarify the framework agreement by defining the responsibilities and the mutual expectations of the two parties.

Lastly, an annual protocol defines the actions that IRSN must carry out in priority and the corresponding budgetary resources. The protocol lists more specifically the main files in which IRSN involvement is requested.

ASN ensures that IRSN's expertise is called upon for the most technically complex subjects in order to optimise the use of the Institute's skills.

2.3. The coordinating meetings

Several types of meetings are held to monitor application of the agreement and the annual protocol between ASN and IRSN. The ASN Director General and Chairman have a meeting with the IRSN Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors twice a year to address strategic matters. These meetings may be supplemented by seminars and meetings of the senior management of the two organisations, including the technical departments.

The progress of the technical examinations entrusted to IRSN is monitored twice yearly at meetings of the GEAS (Safety Assessment Analysis Group). After preparatory discussions between the technical departments of the two entities responsible for a given area, a wrap-up meeting chaired by the two directors general is held to adjust the work priorities according to the stakes, the work load, or topical issues which may have emerged since the protocol was established.

In practice, contact points are designated for both parties as the single point of entry for monitoring the convention

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3. SOME CHALLENGES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE REGULATORY BODY AND THE TSO

3.1 Appraising the expert assessment

A determining aspect in the relationship between the regulatory body and the TSO is the organisation adopted to appraise and improve the quality of the expert assessment. As was stated earlier, a robust organisation enables ASN and IRSN to very regularly discuss, at all levels of the hierarchy, the needs for expert assessments and how they are carried out. ASN and IRSN have developed a system for appraising the IRSN deliverables. It has been decided that only the opinions which met with difficulties will undergo an appraisal based on a joint analysis matrix. The identified criteria focus primarily on compliance with deadlines, the technical quality of the resulting deliverable, its appropriateness with respect to the initial order and the quality of relations during examination of the case. The identified cases are discussed during pre-GEAS meetings and,

if necessary, at the GEAS meetings. ASN is on the whole highly satisfied with the quality of the expert assessments and it issues few appraisal reports of this type.

Nevertheless, communicating on an almost daily basis does not obviate the need to stand back and take an objective view of the situation from time to time. As was underlined by the IRRS missions hosted in France in 2006 and 2014, ASN can improve its appraisal of IRSN's expert assessment services. In 2015 it was decided to put in place an original audit system, comprising an appraisal of the application of the convention binding ASN and IRSN and of the other texts that govern the expert assessment service that IRSN provides for ASN.

The audit was led by a high-ranking official external to both ASN and IRSN, and the audit team comprised staff from various ASN departments. For the first audit, held in 2016, the auditor - in consultation with ASN - decided to limit the scope of the audit to the expert assessments of nuclear power reactors. The audit revealed no shortcomings or significant deviations with respect to the reference texts binding ASN and IRSN and concluded that "The processes have reached a good level of maturity and the minor deviations already identified by IRSN and confirmed by the audit have been analysed and appropriate corrective actions have been taken" and that

"The question of meeting deadlines is more complex and demands efforts over the long term". The recommendations made to ASN and IRSN more specifically concern the rules of professional ethics, the harmonisation of practices between the various ASN entities for requesting the services of IRSN and reducing certain time frames, the improvement of the content of the examination tracking documents and stepping up the technical interchanges between ASN and IRSN during expert assessments and the interchanges between ASN and IRSN when the opinions of IRSN are only partially taken into account. Several good practices and areas for improvement of lesser importance were also identified. The actions implemented are monitored at the coordination meetings between the two entities. A new audit is planned for 2019.

3.2 ASN's relationship with the other authorities and government departments

Another issue is the relationship between ASN and the other authorities or government departments that supervise IRSN or order expert assessments from IRSN. ASN thus worked in 2018 - in collaboration with IRSN and its five supervisory ministries and with ASND, the defence nuclear regulator and the departments responsible for protecting nuclear installations against malicious acts - on the development of the next multi-year objectives agreement between the State and IRSN. Among the subjects associated with leading the expert appraisals, which is assumed jointly by ASN and the other authorities and government departments involved, one can mention:

- The particular position in the management of emergency situations, where the regulatory body and the TSO are both involved in assisting the public authorities, which makes it all the more important to clearly define the division of roles (the entity responsible for emergency management needs to have a clear and unambiguous recommendation);

- The consideration of the expectations of the stakeholders in the expert assessment and decision-making process. Indeed, even though IRSN contributes to informing the public, the relations with the stakeholders in the context of expert assessments of the licensees' files must be organised so as to optimise the contribution to the decision-making process. ASN proposed increasing the level of consultation with IRSN to define the needs on the basis of a joint analysis of the issues, and to take into account any expectations expressed by civil society as from the work request phase, so that IRSN's expert assessment work always fits into a clearly defined framework set by the ASN work request.

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3.3 The search for efficiency

Over and beyond the questions of coordination, in a restricted budgetary context, the two entities - the regulatory body and the TSO - must work together to ensure the efficiency of their actions to enhance nuclear safety and radiation protection.

ASN and IRSN have opted to put in place tightened coordination in terms of human resources and skills:

first of all, short-term internships between the two entities will be developed more systematically, followed by a reflection and broader measures concerning the forward-looking management of jobs and skills. Increased vigilance shall be exercised to better identify the bottlenecks - which could be a long-term phenomenon - associated with skills that are critical for the expert assessments.

The Act of 17th August 2015 recently stepped up ASN's role with respect to IRSN: the ASN Chairman is now a member of the IRSN Board of Directors, and ASN plays a greater part in defining the strategic directions of IRSN. One of the aims of the ASN multi-year strategic plan, which sets out the broad strategic guidelines for a 3-year period, is to clarify the responsibilities of the two entities and achieve efficiency thanks to more closely

targeted use of the expert assessments. ASN leads the technical investigations, to which IRSN contributes through expert assessments. Consequently, ASN plans to step up its prior analyses of the files in order to better define and target the external expert assessments, and then to monitor them as they progress. The procedures for informing and ensuring the participation of the public and stakeholders must also be clarified, as mentioned earlier.

4. CONCLUSION

The French system for ensuring the oversight of the nuclear safety and radiation protection of civil nuclear facilities and activities, which is based on an independent administrative authority - ASN, and a main TSO - IRSN, is a system that works well and ensures high quality decisions.

ASN leads the technical examinations, relying in particular, when necessary, on IRSN's expert assessments, which are essential to enable informed decisions to be made on the subjects that have the most significant potential implications. ASN and IRSN interchange regularly to control the workload, prioritise the expert assessments and reach agreements on the way they exercise their respective responsibilities.

In the context of the reinforcement of the European framework for nuclear safety and radiation protection, ASN supports the actions of ETSON (European Technical Safety Organisations Network), in which IRSN plays a major role. ASN considers that the WENRA and ETSON networks could work together more closely to identify expert assessment needs common to several national nuclear regulators and entrust the performance of these assessments to the ETSON experts. The setting up of a joint European mechanism for identifying expert assessment needs and carrying out the assessments would enhance the credibility and legitimacy of the positions adopted by the regulators to improve nuclear safety and radiation protection, by moving towards greater harmonisation.