The government is preparing to abolish the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) in order to divide its competences between ASN and CEA. Overview of the various players in the French nuclear industry and their skills.
The government announced on Wednesday February 8 its intention to abolish the IRSN, via an amendment to its bill on the acceleration of nuclear power which began its parliamentary shuttle at the end of January. IRSN’s powers would then be divided into two parts: its research missions would come down tou Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA), and its expertise would be transferred to the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), two of the public organizations dedicated to nuclear power. In 70 years of history, French atomic energy has justified the creation of many public industrial, research or control actors and as many more or less famous acronyms, without it being obvious to distinguish for each their own skills. . Here are the main ones.
EDF
EDF is a public company 90% owned by the French State. It is the first producer and the first supplier of electricity in France. Since the dismantling of Areva in 2016, the EDF group has managed the operation of the 58 nuclear reactors in service in France spread over 19 sites which generate nearly 75% of French electricity production.
In 2016, EDF also resumed construction of new nuclear reactors. It is she who is in charge of the construction of the EPR (new generation reactor) of Flamanville, launched in 2007.
Orano (formerly Areva)
Orano is a public company more than 90% owned by the French State, born from the dismantling of Areva, started in 2016 and completed in 2018. It is involved in the entire nuclear fuel cycle, in particular the mining of uranium, then the concentration, refining, enrichment of this uranium and the assembly of fuels which are then used in the nuclear power plants now operated by EDF.
Orano also manages radioactive waste and used nuclear fuel. For example, it is to the Orano plant in La Hague that the spent fuel from the reactors of the Fessenheim plant, shut down in 2020, was transported.
The National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (Andra)
Founded in 1979, Andra has been a public industrial and commercial establishment since 1991 and placed under the supervision of the ministries in charge of energy, research and the environment. It has five sites across France.
Andra’s skills are linked to the long-term management of radioactive waste produced in France. It deals with the design and operation of storage centers, the collection, transport and management of radioactive waste from small producers outside nuclear power, and the restoration of polluted sites. It also identifies all the radioactive materials and waste present on French territory, and collects radioactive objects for family use.
The Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN)
ASN was founded in 1973 and then transformed into an independent administrative authority in 2006 by the law on transparency and security in nuclear matters (known as the “TSN law”).
It is the “gendarme” of nuclear power in France and ensures, on behalf of the State, control of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France. It is it that regulates and authorizes the operation of the installations concerned, carries out inspections to check that they comply with the safety rules. It has the power to penalize and stop installations in the event of a breach. It also has a mission to inform the public about its activity and the state of nuclear safety, and assists the Government in crisis management.
The Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN)
IRSN is a public industrial and commercial establishment under the supervision of the ministers responsible for energy, the environment, defence, research and health. It was created in 2001.
It conducts research and expertise activities on all the risks associated with ionizing radiation, whether used by industry, medicine, or even natural. More specifically, its expertise and research missions focus on the following areas: nuclear safety, safe transport of radioactive and fissile materials, protection of man and the environment against ionizing radiation, protection and the control of nuclear materials or the protection of nuclear facilities and the transport of radioactive and fissile materials against malicious acts
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
The CEA is a public scientific, technical and industrial research body, under the supervision of the ministers responsible for energy, research, industry and defence. It was founded in 1945 at the request of General de Gaulle, a few days after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American aircraft.
It exercises research and scientific watch skills and has the mission of developing the applications of nuclear energy in the scientific, industrial and national defense fields. Since 2015, its skills have been extended to alternative energies.