To keep the public informed, ASNR has published a summary of the consultation, which ran from 16 May to 15 June 2025, on its website, together with a report explaining the conclusions of its assessment. ASNR provides answers to some frequently asked questions below. Your questions, our answers Why is the fourth periodic safety review not carried out in certain reactors during their fortieth year of operation? INVOLVEMENT OF the public It’s true that the fourth periodic safety review does not always take place after exactly 40 years of reactor operation. Scheduling depends on the differences in timing of the first periodic safety reviews. In any case, however, the fourth periodic safety review of each reactor takes place ten years at the latest after the third periodic safety review. This means that the safety of each reactor is re-assessed every ten years. The rollout of the fourth periodic safety review of the twenty 1,300 MWe reactors represents a major challenge for EDF. For the company and its subcontractors, it will require a human investment on a scale that has not been seen since the reactors were built. ASNR has examined the specific measures adopted by EDF to take account of human and organisational factors during the design and implementation of the associated modifications. ASNR also requires the works on each reactor to be carried out in two phases, to take account of the ability of industrial providers to carry out the works to the expected level of quality, and to enable operators to make the significant modifications to facilities on a stepby-step basis. The modifications that are the most important in terms of safety will be carried out first The licensee of France’s nuclear power plants faces major challenges, including transfer and maintenance of skills, training, management of subcontractors, quality of workers, etc. Is it reasonable to demand so much of EDF? 30 • Les cahiers de l’ASNR • July 2025
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