The ASNR meets with its partners in the United States
From 9 to 13 March 2026, a delegation from the French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR), led by Commissioner Olivier Dubois, travelled to the United States to discuss current nuclear safety and radiation protection issues with its American and international partners, and to strengthen existing technical and institutional cooperation.
The ASNR delegation visited several facilities at Argonne National Laboratory dedicated to the study of material irradiation and corrosion, the thermohydraulics of advanced reactors, and severe accidents. The OECD ROSAU (Reduction Of Severe Accident Uncertainties) programme conducted at ANL enabled the ASNR to form a view on the enhancements proposed by EDF as part of the 4th periodic safety reactor review to limit the consequences in the event of an accident involving core melt.
9 March 2026 – Visit to the ANL Reactor Severe Accident Test Facility, Lemont, IL
Image of a ROSAU test showing significant ablation of a concrete block by corium
Left to right: Thierry Granier, Olivier Dubois, Olivier Marchand, Franck Lebrun (ASNR)
The delegation attended the RIC conference in Washington and took part in a series of bilateral meetings with foreign counterparts, which provided an opportunity to discuss current international issues relating to nuclear safety and radiation protection.
On the sidelines of the conference, meetings were also held with the Chair of the NRC, as well as with two commissioners, to discuss regulatory issues and ongoing developments in both countries.
The delegation also met with the DOE’s Under Secretary for Energy responsible for nuclear security, who is also the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), to share respective priorities and discuss ongoing collaborations regarding criticality risk, nuclear data, and emergency management and preparedness.
A meeting dedicated to safety research was held with the NRC. It provided an opportunity to take stock of joint research programmes and identify future directions, particularly in the field of loss-of-coolant accidents and battery fires. This meeting provided an opportunity to reiterate the importance of projects carried out within the framework of the NEA and to coordinate preparations for them.
The mission concluded with a meeting of the steering committee for cooperation between the ASNR and the NRC, attended by the ASNR’s Director General. This meeting provided an opportunity to review ongoing regulatory activities, areas of shared interest and prospects for cooperation. Against the backdrop of a nuclear renaissance affecting both authorities, the importance of prioritising safety was emphasised. The two authorities discussed their respective efforts regarding governance and efficiency in managing all major projects currently underway on both sides. Several areas where cooperation should be strengthened were identified, notably in the fields of the fuel cycle, artificial intelligence, fusion, ageing, and some advanced reactor designs.
13 March 2026 – Steering Committee for Cooperation between the ASNR and the NRC, Rockville, MD
Left to right: Jamie Pelton (NRC), Franck Lebrun (ASNR), Andrea Kock (NRC), Olivier Marchand (ASNR), Thierry Granier (ASNR), Kevin Williams (NRC), Olivier Dubois (ASNR), David Skeen (NRC), Mike King (NRC), John Tappert (NRC), Sabrina Attack (NRC), Jeremy Bowen (NRC)