“The year was firstly marked by our continued monitoring of the situation in Ukraine, which led us to regularly reassess the risks. Discussions during the year with ASN, CEA and ORANO also made it possible to significantly improve the transmission of technical data to the Crisis Technical Center in the event of an accident, in particular by the operational implementation of the automated transmission of measurements to the chimneys of the facilities in real time, which represents a major advance.
The scaling up of our mobile cell also continued in 2023. The full-scale national exercise carried out in Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux (Loir-et-Cher) allowed us to test the deployment of all of our field measurement equipment, especially aerial equipment. Also in the area of measurements, the construction of our crisis organization has continued with the definition of the procedures for the involvement of our fixed laboratories in the field of health and, in the area of the environment, by the commissioning of the LATAC (laboratory for the processing and analysis of environmental samples in post-accident situations).”
Philippe Dubiau
Assistant Director for Emergency Response
The crisis exercise carried out on May 23, 2023, around the Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux power plant in Loir-et-Cher was an important milestone for IRSN. For the first time, all the resources of IRSN’s mobile cell were deployed.
During this full-scale exercise, a team consisting of some fifty IRSN experts and all their radioactivity measurement equipment deployable in the field (17 mobile beacons; 2 mobile on-board measurement devices, including one in a helicopter and one in a vehicle; 3 mobile laboratories; 1 transmission vehicle; etc.) joined the fifty firefighters already present and the CEA and EDF teams. The scenario imagined an accident at the Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux power plant. At noon, given the development of the situation, the Prefect of Loir-et-Cher triggered the Emergency Response Plan and decided to evacuate the populations within a radius of five kilometers around the power plant.
Together with the head of rescue operations, the IRSN teams coordinated the measurements aimed at acquiring detailed knowledge of radioactivity levels in the different environments impacted by the radioactive discharges. The strategy of measurements after release making it possible to confirm IRSN’s Emergency Response Center (ERC) assessments was tested in a realistic way: the mapping of soil contamination, using detectors installed on a helicopter and in a vehicle, was carried out under real conditions.
These helped to identify in less than one day the contaminated area in which populations could not live permanently.
This exercise, which was very instructive, will enable IRSN to further improve its measurement resources and strategies and their deployment. This will provide the Prefect with information to make the most appropriate decisions for protecting the populations.
First training exercise with EDF on the Flamanville EPR
On October 10, 2023, IRSN’s ERC took part, with EDF’s teams, in a first exercise simulating an accident situation at the new EPR at Flamanville (Manche). The scenario simulated a primary coolant loss accident leading to a reactor core meltdown. In the ERC, this exercise allowed the members of the “Facility Assessment” unit (one of the ERC units) to become familiar with the calculation tools and documentation made available to emergency team members; they were able to properly assess the events in the scenario. The result: a positive report for this stage in IRSN’s preparation for the start-up of the EPR.
In 2023, continuing the work carried out in 2022, IRSN contributed to the review of the French National Plan for Response to a Major Nuclear or Radiological Accident, which was created in 2014.
Initiated in 2022 by the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security (SGDSN), the update of this plan progressed significantly during 2023. The general objective, 10 years after its first version, was to incorporate more fully the feedback from the Fukushima-Daiichi accident, and the work carried out at the national level on the doctrines, in particular on the post-accident. IRSN participated in the various working groups (communications, radiological measurements, manufactured goods, waste, transport, radiological zoning, etc.) set up in 2023 and whose objective was to update the plan’s action sheets. Based on its scientific and technical knowledge, the Institute contributed to the preparation of around fifteen sheets. This new version of the French National Plan for Response to a Major Nuclear or Radiological Accident will be finalized in early 2024.
A reinforced on-call service
For the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which took place in France, IRSN, as an expert in nuclear and radiological risks, reinforced its on-call system with 25 additional posts (ERC health unit, fixed laboratories for health and environment measurements). Thus, throughout this major sporting event, from September 8 to October 28, a total of 300 emergency team members were mobilized to ensure that each week a team of 60 people were ready to intervene. A similar system is planned for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
IRSN mobilized its emergency organization the day after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was on February 24, 2022. Since then, the Institute has continuously monitored the situation.
Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, IRSN has provided scientific advice and operational assistance to the French public authorities and international bodies. As in 2022, it responded to direct questions and requests from ministries concerning the radiological risk, and regularly exchanged information with its Ukrainian counterpart or the IAEA.
Thus, in 2023, IRSN reassessed on several occasions, given the time that had passed since the reactors were shutdown and the potential consequences of a core meltdown accident, which remains possible in the event of a loss of all cooling means.
Furthermore, following the damage to the Kakhovka dam, located downstream from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, on June 6, 2023, IRSN assessed the risks of a loss of the site’s water resources and now regularly monitors their evolution.
IRSN teams also regularly monitor radioactivity levels on a daily basis, especially in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
A summary also incorporating information from international bodies and a summary of news in the media is maintained internally every week for the benefit of all emergency teams.
OPAL, the Post-accident Awareness Tool for local stakeholders, has evolved in 2023 with a new, richer and more ergonomic version, which was tested during a
co-construction workshop.
The result of the collaboration between IRSN and Anccli since 2010, OPAL is intended for CLIs and elected representatives. This tool makes it possible to map the consequences of medium-sized accident scenarios in the post-accident phase, in order to anticipate and prepare in advance for the long-term management of an accident.
On July 4, 2023, a participatory workshop was organized by the IRSN Lab, at Fontenay-aux-Roses (Hauts-de-Seine), with members of CLI and Anccli to test the new version of OPAL (updated post-accident zoning, research tools, more fluid ergonomics, etc.) and take note of their requirements. Following this workshop, around twenty new user needs were identified and are being integrated.
On September 14, 2023, an awareness-raising day on post-accident situations took place in Gravelines (North), at the initiative of the Gravelines CLI and Anccli. Some fifty people were present, including many entrepreneurs from Dunkirk. IRSN presented the new version of OPAL, which was used to produce support maps for reflection by the participants. The new version of OPAL, or “OPAL 2.0”, will go into production in 2024.
On May 9, 2023, the SPOS team visited the University of Technology in Compiègne (Oise) to test a participatory workshop dedicated to post-accident with students of all levels. A serious game invited them to discuss the different possible alternatives to deal with a post-accident situation in a territory. This workshop is part of the Demeterres Mousse research project coordinated by the CEA, part of which is aimed at developing a decision-making tool for the post-accident management of a territory.
