ORANO ASNR considers that the safety level of the Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs) operated by Orano is satisfactory and that the overall operation of the “fuel cycle” installations has now stabilised. However, ASNR calls on Orano to maintain a high level of vigilance regarding the risk of saturation of storage capacity for spent fuel and plutonium-bearing materials in the short and medium term. The studies and work undertaken by Orano for the renewal of the “fuel cycle” plants over a timeframe extending roughly from 2040 to 2060, and with regard to the long-term future of existing facilities (until their replacement), are continuing with a positive dynamic. The “Future Back-End” and “Continuity - Resilience” projects have thus become key focal points for the organisation and mobilisation of Orano’s teams. ASNR notes, however, that the timetable for commissioning new spent fuel storage capacities – which is an essential first step, independently of the rest of the programme – leaves no margin with respect to the timeline for the projected saturation of current capacity. Orano must also continue to ensure that the resources committed to projects linked to facilities yet to be constructed are not in competition with projects aimed at maintaining and improving the level of safety at existing facilities. ASNR stresses that support functions and the processing of legacy radioactive substances stored on site at both La Hague and Tricastin remain top priorities. Installations in operation As part of the implementation of measures to mitigate the saturation of the spent fuel storage pools at the La Hague site, Orano began in 2025 to replace baskets containing spent fuel with baskets featuring a smaller cross-section, known as “densified” baskets, in order to gradually increase the spent fuel storage capacity in the pools. ASNR commends Orano’s efforts to deploy these baskets, which are intended to be used in the event of a risk of a blockage in storage capacity due to a major unforeseen event at a “fuel cycle” facility. ASNR views positively the implementation of projects to secure the management of radioactive materials and waste at the La Hague site, in particular the commissioning of a third extension for plutonium-bearing material storage, authorised by ASNR in March 2025, which will increase the storage capacity for containerised MOX scrap (RBM). ASNR notes Orano’s ability to carry out, on schedule, the construction work for the extension of the Georges Besse II plant (BNI 168), which started in September 2024, following a public inquiry in spring 2024. Lastly, ASNR emphasises that the action plan to overcome production difficulties at the Melox plant at Marcoule has enabled MOX fuel production to meet expectations without excessive production of “MOX scrap”. Long-term development at “fuel cycle” plants The project to build new “underwater” storage capacity for spent fuel, now led by Orano and part of the ambitious industrial programme to renew facilities at La Hague, known as the “Future Back-End” project, is under way, with the aim of commissioning the first pool by 2040. ASNR calls on Orano to ensure that the related studies and work make good progress, in particular so that a robust and appropriate design baseline is assured for the new spent fuel storage facilities, and that the commissioning schedule is respected. Legacy waste retrieval/conditioning and decommissioning Large quantities of legacy waste, mainly at the La Hague site, are not stored in accordance with current safety standards and present major risks. The retrieval and conditioning of this legacy waste (RCD) is a key step in the progress of decommissioning of definitively shut down plants. ASNR periodically monitors the progress of these complex projects and takes a positive view of the good assimilation of the project maturity assessment by Orano, as well as the deployment of management tools. ASNR notes the efforts maintained by Orano in 2025 with respect to waste recovery and conditioning projects at the La Hague site. Nevertheless, some priority projects are encountering technical or contractual difficulties that are delaying source term reduction operations and ultimately the decommissioning of facilities. ASNR remains vigilant as to the robustness of the waste recovery and processing scenarios, and the reliability of the processes implemented for this purpose. With regard to decommissioning operations at the La Hague site, ASNR considers that Orano must improve the maturity level of the proposed solutions and ensure optimum forward planning for technical and regulatory constraints, as well as interactions between facilities in operation and those undergoing decommissioning. As a result, ASNR gave Orano formal notice to carry out the rerouting of first-generation transfer ducts, the use of which was due to cease in 2024. ASNR also calls on Orano to lean from the experience of the fire that occurred in 2025 inside the controlled area during decommissioning operations in the Medium Activity Plutonium (MAPu) facility. The decommissioning of the George Besse I facility at the Tricastin site progressed satisfactorily in 2025, in particular with the dismantling of the old cooling towers. ASNR remains vigilant regarding the progress of the studies for decommissioning of the diffusion cascades. ABSTRACTS – ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025 23
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