Commitments

Training and exercises

All staff are made aware of the importance of taking into account &uot;human and organizational factors&uot; in order to improve nuclear safety performance and occupational health and safety. This awareness raising relies on:

• &uot;Internal emergency plan&uot; exercises carried out internally, with the assistance of Maubeuge firefighters.
• Technical training days organized with the fire department for the Regional Fire and Emergency Service.

These various exercises enable the documentation drawn up to be tested, lessens to be learnt and actions for improvement to be proposed in order to assist with initiatives and decisions on the ground.

Personnel dosimetry monitoring

The staff working at the SOMANU facility are subject to very strict dosimetry monitoring. This monitoring, which relates to SOMANU personnel and staff from outside companies, is carried out under the control of the French Nuclear Safety Authority and meets exact regulatory requirements.

To work in a regulated area, named individual regulatory dosimetry is obligatory, in application of the labor code:

• Passive dosimetry (obligatory in monitored and un-monitored areas) measures exposure in batches. It is used every month, or in the event of suspected accidental exposure. For SOMANU personnel, it is carried out by the company and analyzed by the IRSN laboratory. For personnel from external companies, it is carried out by the employer and analyzed by an external laboratory accredited in dosimetry.
• Dosimetry (obligatory in monitored) measures exposure in real time. For both SOMANU agents and exterior parties, this electronic operational dosimetry enables alarms to be programmed for real time operational monitoring. This operational dosimetry system linked to the Radiation protection entity management database, authorizes access to a controlled area (checking in front of each entrance for specific individual dosage amounts, the validity of medical suitability and training in radiation protection).

Radioactive waste management

Radioactive waste from the SOMANU facility is all waste produced in a nuclear waste area (controlled area for workshop and storage buildings for radioactive materials). The removal of this waste to accredited processing facilities under exclusive usage in accordance with ADR (the European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road, and the French order of June 1, 2001, in application of ADR).

All the waste generated by a SOMANU maintenance operation on material it does not own is systematically conditioned and sent to the owner of the equipment. To do this, all the tools useful and necessary are available at the SOMANU site to ensure the separation, sorting and monitoring of this waste.

The nuclear waste generated in SOMANU facilities is low-level waste.

Technological developments aimed at minimizing waste

A policy for the systematic reduction of waste volumes has been adhered to for several years now. Efforts are made on the application of the following three principles: 

• The management of consumables, only using what is strictly necessary.
• Sorting at source, to separate waste by type and by activity.
• Traceability, enabling the management and monitoring of this waste.

Waste is managed by type: ANDRA storage type, incineration or melting type (SOCODEI), conventional industrial waste types. The aim is therefore to reduce the volume of waste and to recycle where possible and to package in the form of end waste.

Technological waste

This is produced during actions on equipment and the maintenance of facilities (dustcloth, vinyl, card used for cleaning and protecting materials). Compactables, these are collected in plastic bags at various points in the workshop. They are generally packaged in 200 liter drums (compacted or otherwise, depending on the type of waste) with leakproof seals.

Metal waste

Metal waste is collected separately and, some of it, is sent to the CENTRACO melting center. SOCODEI also operates a melting processing unit for low-level radioactive metals. This unit can recycle part of the metals. The other part, made into ingots, is sent to the ANDRA surface storage site in the Aube region of France. 

Irradiant waste

This waste comes from workstations in controlled areas and from the filtration of decontamination effluent. Parts discarded following an expert report exceeding 2 mSv/h are also part of this waste. Their level of irradiation requires the use of biological protection for handling and transportation. This waste does not pose any compatibility problems with the packaging. It is packaged:

• in packaging using biological protection and returned
• in concrete shells

Ion exchange resins

These resins used to trap the activity of decontamination effluents for various components, are packed in special containers and transferred under cover to the original facility.