Nuclear safety and security

A rigorous and transparent multilateral framework

France, as a responsible nuclear actor, conducts all cooperation activities in the field of civil nuclear energy in compliance with the highest safety, security and non-proliferation standards.

Responsible bilateral cooperation

Civil nuclear cooperation agreements in the area of nuclear energy concluded by France include strict clauses on the peaceful and non-explosive aim of cooperation, regular IAEA controls, protection of sensitive data, standards that apply in the areas of safety, security and civil nuclear liability, intellectual property, as well as clauses setting out the terms for transferring and re-transferring the materials and equipment provided to third parties which aim to avoid any diversion. We encourage all our partners to supplement their comprehensive safeguards agreement with an additional protocol and to join the relevant international conventions in the nuclear field. The agreements concluded by France cover all geographical regions and help to set up a legal framework of solid cooperation which is adapted to the diverse needs of partner countries.

Technical safeguards are also a means of protecting ourselves against possible proliferation. France therefore only exports third-generation reactors, which are safer and pose greatly reduced risks of proliferation.

French cooperation programmes are conducted in strict compliance with its international commitments. It is a member of the international export control regimes (NSG, Zangger Committee) and is subject to the provisions of EU Council Regulation (EC) No. 428/2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items.

This cooperation is carried out within a transparent framework (as part of its membership of Euratom, France is required to submit all agreements before their signature to the European Commission and publish ratified agreements).

Specific institutional support tailored to partners’ needs

France offers its partners who wish to develop a nuclear power programme coordinated assistance in the preparation of the necessary infrastructure (training and information, energy policies, feasibility and performance studies, regulatory framework, waste management, etc.). This assistance is based on the expertise of all industrial (ORANO, EDF, Framatome) and institutional actors (CEA, ASN/IRSN, ANDRA) of its nuclear programme to allow them to lay the foundations for a safe and responsible programme, in coordination with the work of the IAEA.
Over more than 50 years, France has developed a specific training system closely linked with the needs of the nuclear industry and its control, as well as research.

Bringing together academic and industrial initiatives, this system provides a wide range of training programmes covering all trades and skills required for the sector: technicians, engineers, researchers, experts, lawyers and managers for design, operation and innovation, safety, and the protection of humans and the environment. As part of this collaboration, France shares this experience with partner countries who want to develop their own nuclear power programme. The main actors in the sector (universities and schools, manufacturers, research bodies and agencies, relevant ministries) have put in place a partnership to coordinate the training offering based on the needs of the sector in France and abroad.

Practical workshop, ISIS reactor. Credits: S.Renard/CEA.

Created on a government initiative in 2010, the International Institute of Nuclear Energy (I2EN) brings together the major actors in the area of nuclear energy training: major manufacturers, public research bodies and government agencies, the main universities and schools, as well as the relevant ministries. As an international entry point, I2EN has almost 20 master’s-level training programmes, and 50 programmes ranging from vocational baccalaureate to bachelor’s level, specializing in science and technology. As the French actor for bilateral cooperation and the key interlocutor in the area of nuclear training for new countries joining the I2EN, it advises, guides and supports France’s partner countries in setting up their own nuclear training programmes. Each year, about 15% of those graduating from French master’s-level programmes in nuclear energy are foreign nationals.

Nuclear security and combating nuclear terrorism

France takes risks of nuclear or radiological terrorism very seriously, especially within a general context of a high terrorist threat, as illustrated by the Paris attacks of January 2015, and appeals for strengthening nuclear security on an international scale due to the cross-border nature of the threat.

While the risk of a terrorist group obtaining a nuclear weapon is today low, it does exist, especially if such groups receive help from a State. Terrorist groups might also consider attacking facilities which house nuclear or radioactive materials, or committing an attack by releasing radioactive materials.

In this context, the international community has worked to adopt several international legal instruments and systems that are designed to prevent such attacks.

IAEA

France supports the IAEA’s work on nuclear security, both financially and through contributions from its experts. The European Union is the main contributor to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund, contributing over €50 million between 2009 and 2019.

In particular, it promotes the universalization of the relevant international agreements, specifically the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), amended in 2005. It encourages the IAEA Member States to adhere to and implement the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources and its supplementary guidance documents. France supports the key role of the IAEA in the nuclear security architecture. The Agency plays an essential role in international assistance and the drafting of recommendations and technical guides on nuclear security.

United Nations

Every two years since 2005, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution submitted by France on “Preventing the acquisition by terrorists of radioactive materials and sources”. Every year since 2002, France has also co-sponsored a resolution introduced by India, entitled “Measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.”

France is a party to thirteen sectoral conventions in the field of counter-terrorism negotiated at the United Nations. Furthermore, on 11 September 2013, it ratified the 2005 International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT), which defines new offences covering both the use of nuclear and radioactive materials and strengthens cooperation between States. France advocates the universalization of these conventions, which form a full and coherent counter-terrorism framework, and proposes assistance to this end to States which so request.

Other international initiatives

France supports the international initiatives which contribute to preventing proliferation to non-State players, strengthening nuclear security and reducing the risk of malicious use of nuclear or radioactive material.

For example, since 2002, it has taken part in efforts undertaken within the G7/G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (G7GP/G8GP), of which France held the Presidency in 2019. This Partnership helps requesting States to secure the production and storage of sensitive goods, improve the physical protection of their facilities, strengthen controls on borders and exports, securely manage nuclear or radioactive material, eliminate chemical weapons and control dangerous pathogens in their possession.

France has also been taking part in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) since its creation in 2006. It has particularly focused on work to identify best practices in the area of detecting materials, preventing radiological or nuclear attacks and responding to a possible attack.

Nuclear Security Summits have been held in 2010 (Washington D.C.), 2012 (Seoul), 2014 (The Hague) and 2016 (Washington D.C.). This process has helped to mobilize States at the highest political level so that sufficient resources are allocated to strengthening national nuclear security regimes and international cooperation programmes to take account of the identified risks. France also played an active role in the International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS24) which took place in Vienna from 20 to 24 May 2024 and which provided an opportunity to hold discussions on the major challenges for the future of nuclear security.

Priority for nuclear safety

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi power plant, which was the tragic result of an unprecedented natural disaster, recalled that to continue to play its role in the future energy mix, nuclear energy must be developed within the framework of the highest safety standards.

Joint analysis has been conducted so that lessons can be learned from this accident, showing the importance of international cooperation and coordination. At the European level, the use of stress tests at nuclear plants led to recommendations which are now implemented in each State, as part of a national action plan. France has carried out complementary safety assessments (CSAs) on all its nuclear power plants, as well as its fuel cycle facilities and research facilities.

We must also work to universalize and strengthen the implementation of existing legal instruments , particularly the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, the Convention on the Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency.

France fully supports the Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, which was adopted in 2011 and is committed to several themes, in particular:

• strengthening transparency, States should make public reports on their progress on the implementation of the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety.
  France believes that greater transparency is the key to the continued improvement of nuclear safety and citizens’ acceptance of nuclear energy. It is for this reason, in order to increase transparency, that France has proposed that Member States make public their national measures to implement the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety.
• promoting peer reviews (IRRS, OSART)
  Conducting systematic and regular peer reviews allows convictions and practices to be compared with the experience from other countries. It would thus seem essential that all Member States observe the commitments they made under the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, by requesting that regular Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) and Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) missions be carried out and that that the results be published, under a multi-year programme. The most recent missions concluded that France had significantly bolstered the framework for its control of nuclear safety and radiation protection.
• strengthening preparation and response to emergency situations.

Improving safety also means preparing for the eventuality of an accident. Training for emergency personnel and decisionmakers is carried out regularly through local, national and international exercises based on a technical fault occurring in a nuclear power plant that could lead to the discharge of nuclear waste. Faced with a disaster where the radiological impact could reach several countries, the major challenge is to ensure consistency across the implementation of actions to protect populations on the one hand and borders on the other. Furthermore, a request for external assistance may be necessary, and should therefore be included under preparation efforts, in bilateral, regional or international frameworks. France calls for better coordination of the actions to be taken in the event of an accident, by inviting all Member States to cooperate more actively with the IAEA, and in particular to join its Response and Assistance Network, RANET, and register their national assistance capabilities.

• working towards a global regime of civil nuclear liability

The Fukushima Daiichi accident showed how important it was for a country which has suffered a nuclear accident to have a suitable civil nuclear liability regime to make sure that the populations concerned receive fair and guaranteed reparations in conditions which are simple to implement. Today, only half of the countries operating nuclear power plants have joined an international civil nuclear liability regime. Faced with this, France is promoting the greatest possible accession to the relevant conventions and is encouraging all Member States to work to join a global civil nuclear liability regime.

It is within this framework that in August 2013 France and the United States signed a Joint Statement on Liability for Nuclear Damage.

Local security training exercise in the steam generator room. CEA Marcoule / Phenix. Credits: F.Vigouroux/CEA

For more information:

• See the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety
• See the page on complementary safety assessments (CSAs) on the website of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN)