Occitanie The Écrin facility, commissioned by resolution 2018-DC-0645 of 12 October 2018, has had a bituminous cover since 2023 to ensure containment of the BNI’s waste storage. An inspection was carried out in 2025, during which it was possible to check, on a spot-check basis, that periodic inspections and tests of Protection Important Components (PICs) had been carried out, the organisation implemented and its application for dealing with deviations. In the interests of transparency, two observers from the site’s CLI took part in the inspection. A new report, describing the progress of studies and investigations carried out to assess the feasibility of storage options for waste currently stored at Écrin, and in application of Article 7 of the Decree of 20 July 2015, will be submitted in early 2026. As part of its responsibility to monitor the radiological impact on the environment, ASNR also conducted a Radiological Site Investigation (RSI) designed to characterise very precisely the impact of the entire site, including the ICPE and BNI, on its environment (see box opposite). ASNR notes the improvements in formalisation, traceability and, more generally, in taking account of the regulatory requirements specific to nuclear installations. The level of nuclear safety and environmental protection of the facility remains satisfactory in view of the risks the facility presents. ASNR will continue to monitor the commitments and improvements made by the licensee. Radiological site survey of BNI 175 Écrin As part of its responsibility to monitor the radiological impact on the environment, ASNR has chosen the Orano industrial site at Malvési (Narbonne) to conduct a “Radiological Site Investigation” (RSI) designed, in addition to the monitoring programmes, to characterise in detail the impact of this site on its environment and to assess, by means of specific measurements, the resulting exposure of the neighbouring population. This industrial site, which includes a uranium conversion plant classified for environmental protection and a radiological waste storage facility, BNI Écrin, has undergone major changes in recent years. New industrial projects have recently come to fruition (PERLE cell at BNI Écrin, CERS project) and other projects are in progress, such as a new UO2 production workshop and the TDN project to reprocess nitrates contained in industrial storage areas. The RSI programme for Malvési 2021-2024 is organised around three main areas: • field studies, with sampling and measurement of radioactivity (using the best available techniques) in the air, water and land near and far from the site, as well as terrestrial and airborne measurements of the dose rate; • local surveys to find out about the lifestyles of local residents in order to estimate, as realistically as possible, their exposure to radioactivity from discharges from the site; • involvement of local stakeholders, in order to respond to their concerns, help them better understand the radiological risk and offer them the opportunity to participate in and facilitate the implementation of the study programme. This programme of studies has shown that radionuclide activities measured in the environment at the Malvési site have decreased since the previous studies carried out in 2008-2010, in line with the reduction in discharges from the site. The low-level measurements carried out specifically as part of the RSI confirmed the activities measured as part of Orano’s and ASNR’s annual monitoring programmes. The exposure of people living near the Malvési site through ingestion and inhalation of radionuclides released into the environment is low, at around one microsievert per year. The RSI also made it possible to measure precisely the gamma radiation emitted by the mine concentrate storage area to the north of the site. To the north of the Malvési site, external exposure to radiation varies according to the exposure scenario and can reach a few tens of microsieverts per year. In all cases, the exposure of the population in the vicinity of the Orano site at Malvési is below the exposure threshold of 1 mSv/year set out in the regulations (Article R. 1333-11 of the Public Health Code). The conclusions of this RSI were presented to the CLI of the Écrin facility on 3 July 2025, and the results and publications of the study are available on ASNR’s website*. * https://recherche-expertise.asnr.fr/savoir-comprendre/environnement/ lers-site-orano-malvesi-resultats-publications-letude ASNR actions to prevent radon risk Oversight actions In 2025, ASNR, in conjunction with the Regional Health Agency (ARS) and the Regional Directorate of the Economy, Employment, Labour and Solidarity (Dreets) of Occitanie, carried out awareness-raising and discussion campaigns on regulatory changes in the Labour Code relating to radon risk. ASNR carried out four radon risk monitoring inspections in the Occitanie region: two in spa establishments and two in public access buildings (the Occitanie Regional Council and the Aude Departmental Council). These inspections revealed that these establishments were managing the radon risk satisfactorily. Finally, ASNR supported ARS Occitanie in managing the results of non-compliant drinking water analyses in the municipality of Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole. Areas with radon potential in mainland France, particularly in the Occitanie region, are shown on page 99. 86 Rn radon 86 ABSTRACTS – ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
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