Repères - N°48 / March 2021 - The IRSN magazine - 22

IRSN

The Institute has monitored developments in Japan since
March 11, 2011. It has deployed its multi-disciplinary expertise
to assist in guiding national and international discussions
on safety, and supports civil society by responding to their
questions and concerns.
2011: Handling the emergency
in Japan and France

From March  11, IRSN deployed its
Emergency Center (CTC) based in the
Hauts-de-Seine department (see Webmag).
Expert Olivier Isnard accompanied the
French civil security rescue mission seconded to Japan.
Through dose rate measurements, he
ensured that there was no radiological risk
for the team members. " The Institute
supported us before, during, and on our
return from our clearance mission, " attested
Bertrand Domeneghetti, lieutenantcolonel of the fire brigade at the General
Directorate for Civil Protection and
Emergency Management, in 2012. With
around twenty rescuers, IRSN conducted
a radiological risk assessment at the Lycée
Français in Tokyo and then informed
parents and staff.
The expert stayed in Japan for five weeks,
analyzing the situation and the stakes.
A daily news bulletin was published on
the embassy's website. At the Pompidou
Center's request, he screened the 170 works
exhibited at the National Art Center,
Tokyo, for contamination before their
return to France.
In France, the Vésinet Center (Yvelines
department) deployed specialists in radiological measurements. They carried out
whole-body counting on personnel returning from Japan, from Air France and
Radio France as well as Cybernetix, who
dismantled a power plant south of the
damaged one.
At the end of 2011 and then in April 2012,
the Institute took part in contamination
measurement and mapping campaigns
near Fukushima Daiichi. Its specialists
carried out in situ readings and measured
the dose rate in cars, using the Ulysse
system (see p. 17). Over 100,000 gamma
spectrometry measurement points were
read, including in the evacuated zone.
Page 22 - Repères No. 48 - March 2021

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Four weeks of non-stop work
at the CTC

The Institute's CTC was very involved in
handling the accident in Japan. For four
weeks straight, its experts were constantly
at work. A force of at least 30 experts were
on hand during the day and 20 at night,
totaling 200 of the Institute's 1,700 staff at
that time.
It's the full breadth of IRSN's expertise,
in support of this team of experts, which
made it possible to provide estimates of
the consequences in Japan and France.
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Thriving safety policies in action

In the aftermath of the accident, the
Institute got organized to respond to the
Prime Minister's request for complementary safety assessments on nuclear facilities
to examine their resistance to high-intensity loads. Karine Herviou, Safety Expert,
remembered that " although we had not
finished managing the emergency, we were
already getting organized to make a decision
as to how to manage the impact on French
facilities. The request for a 'hardened safety
core' is the result. "
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Analysis and explanations

A few months after the accident, the French
High Committee for Transparency and
Information on Nuclear Safety (HCTISN1)
and several local information commissions
(CLI) asked the Institute for an interpretation of the events that occurred at the
Japanese plant. Between September 2011
and January 2012, IRSN and the French
National Association of Local Information
Committees and Commissions (ANCCLI 2)
co-organized three seminars to monitor
complementary safety assessments and
present IRSN's conclusions from them.
This would include introducing the hardened safety core concept which aims to
improve the safety of facilities in the event
of exceptional hazards (see p. 8).

© Antoine Devouard/IRSN Media Library

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© Geneviève Baumont/IRSN Media Library

2011-2021: IRSN's actions

Expert Olivier Isnard speaking at the 2011 Eurosafe forum.
Repères - N°48 / March 2021 - The IRSN magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Repères - N°48 / March 2021 - The IRSN magazine
