On February 8, a press release from the Ministry of Ecological Transition caused a sensation in the world of nuclear safety. The government intends to combine the technical skills of the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) with those of ASN.
In 2002, the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) was created by decision of the Minister for Regional Planning and the Environment. It was the result of the merger between the Institute for Nuclear Protection and Safety (IPSN), created in 1976, and the Office for Protection against Ionizing Radiation (OPRI), created in 1994. The objective was then to strengthen the links between nuclear safety and radiation protection, by making risk assessment independent of decision-makers and promoters of nuclear technologies.
By separating the IPSN from the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the minister was also seeking greater independence and transparency. Since then, IRSN and its 1,500 employees have had two missions: expertise and research. The institute thus provides technical advice on issues related to nuclear and radiological risks, constitutes the basis of expertise on the most complex subjects and advances knowledge. IRSN is a public institution of an industrial and commercial nature operating under a private law regime through the joint supervision of five ministries (Defence, Environment, Industry, Research and Health).
Merge IRSN and ASN?
The announcement was made by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion via press release on February 8, 2023. The government wishes to merge IRSN with the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN). Since 2006, ASN has been an independent administrative authority responsible for contributing to the drafting of regulations, monitoring compliance with them by the facilities and participating in public information.
With this decision, the government announces that it wants “streamlining ASN’s technical review and decision-making processes” to facilitate the revival of the nuclear sector and “increase synergies in research and development”. He assures us that this will “strengthen the independence of nuclear safety control, within a single and independent safety unit”.
The risk of bringing IRSN closer to decision-making
In a press release dated February 15, the IRSN ethics and professional conduct commission expresses its deep disagreement with the plan to dismantle IRSN. The confidence placed in the institute and its international recognition is due to the fact “that it is not the decision-making entity in matters of nuclear safety”, he explains. The committee believes that “the confusion between expertise and decision-making within the same entity would constitute a considerable setback since it would deprive this expertise of independence”.
“Not having to make the decision gives extraordinary freedom to analyze all the risks and put them on the table”, confirms Maryse Arditi, nuclear physicist, former member of the steering committee for research in safety and radiation protection at the IRSN, on behalf of France Nature Environnement. She emphasizes the importance “to have people whose sole job is to check all the risks as much as possible and do everything to avoid them”. She describes this upcoming reform as “ catastrophe », estimating that “it’s 30 years back for nuclear security”.
Accelerate and streamline without reducing confidence?
The merger project is included in the bill relating to the acceleration of nuclear power via amendment no. CE602 of February 25. Minister for Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher has asked the Chairman of ASN and the Director General of IRSN to submit their proposals on the detailed implementation of the reform by June.
In a new press release dated February 23, the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion wants to reassure. He recalls that “skills in nuclear safety research and expertise in radiation protection, environmental protection and monitoring, will be maintained together within the future safety authority”. The new organization will have to continue to ensure the separation between “control and expertise” which were insured by the IRSN and the “decision-making and strategic steering role carried out by the ASN Commission”.
However, IRSN’s ethics and professional conduct commission is wondering about the method and the schedule. “The issues related to the renewal of the French nuclear power plant and the extension of the life of the nuclear power operating centers should have led to the strengthening of the resources allocated to the independence and competence of the system in charge of radiation protection, the Institute currently. » On the contrary, the reform risks destabilizing a system which has nevertheless shown its effectiveness.