February 2007
Summary
Réalités industrielles
The nuclear industry : issues and prospects
Complete issue
This issue was coordinated
by Pierre AMOUYEL
This issue was coordinated
Editorial
By François Valérian
Rédacteur en chef des Annales des Mines
Nuclear power, a decisive factor in the planet’s new energy equation
By Anne Lauvergeon
Présidente du directoire d'AREVA
A deeply changing world must find an answer to the key energy question : how to guarantee lasting access to sources at a reasonable price while protecting the environment ? Specialists are no longer alone in debating this question; it has become a major issue in politics and the mass media. There is, of course, not one but several answers. The increasing scarcity and rising prices of fossil fuels, the need to secure supply lines and the necessity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, all this should make us more realistic. For these reasons, nuclear power has a full place in the planet’s new energy equation. The nuclear industry and, in particular, its leader, AREVA, are ready to contribute, in complete transparency, to working out a balanced, long-term energy policy.
EDF and nuclear power : The keys to success
By Bernard Dupraz
Directeur général adjoint, Production et Ingénierie
et Laurent Joudon
Directeur adjoint "Economie et Stratégie de la Production"
EDF’s nuclear program is a success thanks to standardization and the company’s competence as the program’s chief architect. As part of a clear, constant French energy policy, the firm made the right choices. Beyond the problems of operating 58 plants with safety placed first, questions are arising about the life-span of reactors and preparations for replacing them. As a response, the EPR reactor has been designed over the past fifteen years; and the first one is being built in Flamanville, Normandy. Thanks to this future, EDF’s know-how is an even more valuable asset since the economic and political credibility of nuclear power is growing worldwide.
Radioactive wastes
By Marie-Claude Dupuis
Directrice générale, Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs (Andra)
Managing radioactive wastes used to be a peripheral activity for the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Over the past forty years, it has become a full-fledged phase in the fuel cycle of producing electricity from the atom. In 2005, the National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ANDRA) presented to the government a comprehensive overview of the results drawn from fifteen years of research. This landmark report has received recognition beyond France’s borders. By broadening this agency’s powers, an act of 28 June 2006 acknowledges the progress made and the quality of the results. It also sets an objective for the coming years : work out solutions for managing all forms of radioactive wastes.
R&D in the nuclear industry : Issues and prospects, present and future
By Philippe Pradel
Directeur de l'Energie nucléaire, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique
Independence in matters of energy and national defense, economic requirements, tighter safety measures, the adaptation to sustainable development… the political, economic and social context has dictated technological advances in nuclear power. R&D in this industry is pursuing two objectives : optimize the operation and life-span of second-generation reactors while undertaking the research necessary for designing the third generation for the next twenty or thirty years. The long-term aim is to design nuclear systems of the fourth generation better equipped to meet the requirements of sustainable development toward 2040. A major challenge is to maintain international leadership for France’s nuclear industry. To this end, cooperation must be optimized between French partners in research and industry; and the country’s efforts must be reinforced thanks to international cooperation.
Nuclear power : Major issues for France’s industrial, energy and environmental policies
By Florence Fouquet
Sous-directrice de l'industrie nucléaire au ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de l'Industrie (de janvier 2007 à août 2006)
Cyrille Vincent
Sous-directeur de l'industrie nucléaire au ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de l'Industrie (depuis septembre 2006)
et Francis Iglésias
Chargé de mission à la sous-direction de l'industrie nucléaire au ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de l'Industrie
France ranks second in the world as producer of electricity from atomic power, and first in Europe. Thanks to its nuclear plants, the country’s rates of CO2 emissions per inhabitant and in proportion to its GDP are among the lowest in the EU. French nuclear power is a success story : it employs more than 110.000 people, and AREVA has become a world leader in the fuel cycle and in the design and construction of power plants. Recently passed laws will help maintain a lasting technological advance for France : a deliberate commitment to develop nuclear power systems and an appointment with parliament in 2015 (before the underground depository for spent fuel is opened), guaranteed funding for further research, etc.
The French Nuclear Safety Authority, an independent administrative body
By André-Claude Lacoste
Président de l'Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN), autorité administrative indépendante
The Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) is officially responsible for controlling safety and radioactivity in France so as to protect wage-earners, patients, the public and the environment from nuclear-related risks. It draws on the work done by the Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), and provides information to the public on these questions. The men and women who work at ASN have the duty to uphold four values : competence, independence, exactitude and transparency. The Authority’s goal is to ensure an effective, legitimate, impartial and creditable control recognized by the public and serving as an international reference mark.
The nuclear industry and public hearings
By Yves Mansillon
Président de la Commission nationale du débat public
Major decisions about the French nuclear industry have been made, it is often said, without sufficiently informing and consulting the population. Laws in 1995 and 2002 provide for public hearings in order to inform the public and obtain its reactions to big projects of national interest. The responsibility for organizing a hearing is vested in an independent administrative authority, the National Commission of Public Debate (CNDP). Within two years, five questions related to the nuclear industry have been referred to it. The hearings already held represent a fundamental innovation compared with earlier practices.
The French and nuclear wastes
By Philippe d’Iribarne
Directeur de Gestion et Société, Directeur de recherche, CNRS
The French are often said to have irrational reactions to nuclear wastes. When the time is taken to conduct a long survey, it turns out, as expected, that most respondents have a very cursory knowledge of this issue’s technical aspects, and evoke “myths”. But to form an opinion, they also refer to commonsense — the experiences acquired and ethical issues. Experts should take this into account.
From whales to tritium
By Jacky Bonnemains
Président de Robin des Bois, Association de protection de l'Homme et de l'environnement
Only 150 years of human actions and innovations separate whale-oil lamps from atomic fission and fusion. During this period, the human quest for lighting, heating and transportation has drained the stock of fuels, ranging from peat and wood to coal and petroleum. The energy necessary for protecting us from the cold and heat, for transportation, lighting and other comforts is a persistent problem. Since the start of the industrial era and the consumer age, the solutions adopted have jeopardized the oceans, atmosphere and earth
Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
By David King
Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government
In a 2003 white paper on energy, the British government made the commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 60 %, from the current 150 million tons per year to 60 million by 2050. This objective calls for tightening requirements in all sectors without any exception and, above all, for developing nuclear power by replacing current reactors and building power plants based on fusion (thanks to ITER) over the next trente-five years.
The new prospects of the UK’s energy policy
By Malcolm Grimston
Honorary Senior Visiting Research Fellow at Imperial College London, Fellow of the Royal Institute of Foreign Affairs (Chatham House)
Thanks to a decade-long reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the United Kingdom took a leading role in international negotiations on climatic change. But the government has recently been embarrassed to learn that emissions are once again climbing — by nearly 5 % from 1999 to 2004 — as nuclear power plants have been shut down and the reliance on coal has increased owing to the rising price of natural gas. When the white book on energy came out in 2003, the possibility of building new reactors seemed very far-off, at best. Following a reassessment of the country’s energy policy by a report released in July 2006, the government has switched positions. It is now arguing that new nuclear plants would be economically profitable, and would reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing the security of the nation’s energy supply.
Nuclear power in the United States
By Richard Meserve
Senior of Counsel chez Covington & Burling, et président de la Carnegie Institution of Washington
Nuclear power is experiencing a revival in the United States. Although no new plant has been ordered or built since 1973, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has just announced that generating companies intend to file license applications within the next few years for the construction and operation of up to 29 new plants. The context of these decisions is described along with the barriers and concerns related to building these new power stations. An assessment of the future of nuclear power in the United States…
Do we have a common future with regard to energy ?
By Bjorn Stigson
Président, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) groups 190 international firms that are calling for a sustainable economic development based on an optimized combination of solutions for solving energy problems while fighting against climatic change. Besides efforts to save energy, improve efficiency and develop innovative low-carbon techniques, it is essential to work out a balanced mix of actions for maximizing the advantages to be drawn from various energy sources. Public policies must organize and support R&D so that all worthwhile options are explored and the results put on the market in time. Special opportunities for public-private partnerships exist in the construction of prototypes and demonstration of innovations in nuclear energy.
Miscellany
A company’s time line
Time in a firm is a subject to which management theorists have devoted much thought and, too, a topic that arouses all sorts of comments during coffee breaks and business luncheons. A brief review of a few commonplaces overheard by members of the class of 2004 during their first long stint of on-the-job training…
Managing the human risk : On the difficulty of indicators and signals
By Cécile Banon
Sociologue, responsable d'études et de diagnostics sociologiques dans une grande organisation de type public
Olivier Guillaume
Sociologue, ingénieur chercheur au Département management des risques industriels de EDF-R&D
et Gilles Deleuze
Ingénieur, ingénieur chercheur au Département management des risques industriels de EDF-R&D
Contemporary society, often called a “risk society”, has set up several arrangements for controlling risks. In organizations, these arrangements often involve regulations, rules and procedures. But might this solution not create additional risks — if the rules and procedures are not respected or are poorly or inappropriately applied ? This is the “human risk”, the problem of applying rules in the workplace. It forces us to reconsider our ideas about risk-management in organizations.
Trop de pétrole !
Energie fossile et réchauffement climatique
Recension par Jean-Pierre Dupuy
professeur à l’École Polytechnique
Recension
By Jean-Pierre Dupuy
professeur à l’Ecole Polytechnique