Protection of French nuclear installations against the risk of fire: Assessment and recommendations of the ENSREG peer review (2023-2025)
The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) has published its summary report of the Topical Peer Review (TPR) on "Fire protection” at nuclear installations, as well as conclusion reports by country. This European review identified numerous areas of good performance for France.
Restitution seminar on June 18, 2025.
Council Directive 2014/87/Euratom on nuclear safety provides for a peer review of each Member State's nuclear facilities every six years on a specific topic.
Following an initial thematic review, launched in 2017 on the topic of managing the aging of nuclear reactors, a second round of peer reviews was launched in 2023 on the topic of protecting nuclear facilities against fire-related risks.
Each participating country submitted a national assessment report, which was reviewed by experts from other countries. France's report covers ten nuclear facilities representative of operating nuclear reactors, fuel cycle facilities, and facilities undergoing decommissioning, and was published in October 2023 [download France's report].
The peer review of the national reports, which was conducted in 2024 under the direction of Sylvie Cadet-Mercier of ASNR, examined the fire protection provisions implemented at nuclear facilities selected for this review for each country. It identified, at the European Union level, both good practices and challenges presented in the summary report, and, for each country, areas of good performance and areas for improvement, presented in national conclusions reports. These reports are available on the ENSREG website.
This European peer review identified numerous areas of strong performance for France. Among these, the peers highlighted the quality of the review conducted following fire events in the non-nuclear industrial sector to draw lessons for nuclear facilities. In terms of fire risk prevention, the implementation of new monitoring systems also represents real improvements according to the peers. Furthermore, the actions to modernize fire protection systems, both on nuclear power reactors and on the high-flux reactor at the ILL, were praised.
Two areas highlighted for further attention in the self-assessment report have been identified for France:
- the implementation of water spray extinguishing systems in nuclear fuel cycle facilities when their deployment is compatible with the processes used,
- the implementation of additional provisions to ensure the complete collection and retention of extinguishing water at a fuel cycle facility.
Participating countries must subsequently publish a national action plan, detailing the actions implemented in response to the areas for improvement identified during this second European review.
Finally, the review exercise concluded with a public restitution and transparency event that brought together more than 130 participants on June 18, 2025. It was emphasized that this in-depth review, which required a significant mobilization of operators, regulatory authorities, and experts, highlighted good practices and fostered the sharing of knowledge and feedback at the European level on fire-related risks in nuclear facilities.
More information
- Consult the national assessment reports
- For France: Safety assessment of fire protection of nuclear facilities. French report.
- For other countries: Country specific reports TPR II
- Download the ENSREG summary report from May 2025: European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group ENSREG : 2nd Topical Peer Review Summary Report "Fire Protection"
- Read the ENSREG press release: European Nuclear Safety Regulators Complete a Joint Review of Fire Protection at Nuclear Installations, Helping to Strengthen Nuclear Safety