Speaker
Description
Background :
Since the security of nuclear transports is concerned, in France, it is the state responsibility and the ministry of energy duty to design security regulations, to license authorised carriers, to authorize each shipment and to approve transport vectors. Having a large nuclear industry imposes France to have a robust and up-to-date nuclear security regime. In this regard, France renewed its nuclear security regulatory framework for nuclear material transport in 2023.
Philosophy of the new French regulation: what has changed?
Fourteen years of effective practice of the previous regulatory framework have highlighted certain needs for improvement, for example:
-The need for a clearer vision between state’s and carriers’s respective responsibilities;
- The need to adapt to new threats (cyber, sabotage);
- A more “operational oriented” rather than an administrative writing of the regulation;
- A better security continuity between installations and transports;
- The need to clarify some concepts to avoid misunderstandings;
- A better integration of information protection.
The new regulation, issued in 2023, reaffirmed the concept of movement as a guarantee for security and reinforced previous provisions regarding, in particular, sensitivity on stops and during changes of mode. Moreover, in the 2023 regulatory framework, France implemented specific provisions for transshipment platforms to give them a specific status and to define an appropriate physical protection system.
To accompany carriers in the implementation of the new regulation, the nuclear security authority provided guidance to specify some aspects of the regulation and ensure an homogeneous implementation (e.g. for impredictibility criteria).
The extended synopse will provide additional examples of the new 2023 regulatory framework’s provisions.
Feedback after one year of implementation
Since the full entry into force of the new regulation, in January 2025, some authorizations have been renewed or are under examination based on updated files from carriers and more than 60 inspections and exercises have been conducted by the nuclear security authority. Inspections have been carried out “during” transport operations or at the carriers’ headquarters. Also, in January 2025, carriers were asked by the authority to provide a document assessing their compliance with the new regulation.
The observations made during the autorization files examination and the different types of inspections, as well as through reported incidents, brought to the conclusion that, on one hand, certain aspects of the new regulation have been well implemented by the carriers (e.g. the reinforcement of certain transport vectors, the provision of security files for stops and transshipment areas). On the other hand, more efforts are still expected on other topics (e.g. the centralized monitoring of transports by the carrier, carrier’s exercise policy).
The extended synopse will provide more detailed information on the progress made and the residual areas for improvement.
Future challenges
Work is still ongoing to update the regulation with regard to the technical control and approval of conveyances.
Moreover, the threat is evolving, as is the nuclear landscape with projects for new reactors, facilities and the associated transports of nuclear material. Challenges are high, as materials concerned, modalities, and volumes to be transported are still unknown. In parallel, emerging technologies can bring security advantages as well as constitute new threats.
The nuclear security authority upcoming challenge is to ensure that the regulatory framework remains adapted to these new concerns. In the future, nuclear security regulations could go further and address topics like:
- Security by design of the casks;
- New sensor reporting on temperatures, pressures, shocks, radiations;
- New technologies to reinforce surveillance during short duration stops.
In conclusion, the extended synopse will develop further the new challenges for transports security regulation.
