Nuclear safety: IRSN unions received by the Minister on Friday

The government announced on February 8 that it wanted to bring together "the technical skills" of the IRSN, scientific monitoring of radiological risk, with those of the ASN (Nuclear Safety Authority), civil nuclear police, and the Energy Commission. atomic (CEA).

This decision, taken within a "nuclear policy council" meeting at the Elysée Palace, aims to create "synergies" in nuclear safety at a time when the State wants to relaunch a reactor program.

Since this surprise announcement, "nobody told us what was wrong with the current system, and how what was going to be put in place would improve it", said Monday to AFP Philippe Bourachot, CGT delegate. , after an appointment at the ministry.

An inter-union (CFE-CGC, CGT, CFDT) was received by the government commissioner in charge of this public establishment.

During this meeting, union representatives essentially expressed staff concerns about IRSN's independence and expertise.

Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher wrote on February 8 to the heads of IRSN, ASN and CEA to ask them to propose to her by February 20 "a working method to implement" this reorganization.

"This development in the governance of nuclear safety is in no way a criticism of the work of IRSN and its staff, who do very high quality work", it was said. Monday at the ministry to AFP.

The government wishes to "improve the credibility of the ASN" and "establish (its) authority" by "strengthening its skills in terms of expertise and research and development", adds the ministry, which evokes a delay of one year to a year and a half needed to implement this merger.

The unions fear the end of the "dual" structure of the French security system (ASN / IRSN), some seeing it as a way of bringing the institute into line. They also fear that the entire research branch of IRSN, which provided expertise, will be transferred to the CEA.

IRSN management is due to receive staff representatives on Tuesday, who will then meet in a general assembly. Thursday she will speak to parliamentarians from the Office for the Evaluation of Scientific Choices (Opecst).