The Nuclear Safety Authority of France (ASN, by its french acronym) and the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN, by its Spanish acronym) held a bilateral meeting at the headquarters of the French nuclear regulatory body. The Spanish delegation displaced to Paris was headed by the president of the CSN, Fernando Marti Scharfhausen, the vice president, Rosario Velasco and the general secretary, Manuel Rodríguez who met with the new president of the ASN, Bernard Doroszczuk, who was appointed in 2018.

During the meeting, the main activities that, within the framework of the bilateral agreement, have been carried out between the two regulatory bodies on nuclear safety and radiological protection have been analyzed since the last meeting, held in 2017 (in 2018 was impossible to carry it out due to the work overload originated by the IRRS-ARTEMIS mission to Spain).

Likewise, the program of joint activities of both agencies and the issues related to the dismantling of nuclear facilities, among others, has been reviewed. Regarding to nuclear safety issues, they exchanged information in relation to the management of spent fuel. The ongoing activities on the agreement between both institutions on nuclear and radiological emergencies have also been analyzed.

The Spanish delegation has also met with the general director of the Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN, according to its acronym in French), Jean-Christophe Niel. There they have visited several facilities of the institute related to Radiological Protection and its crisis center for emergencies. In addition, several topics have been discussed between the CSN and the IRSN, such as the dismantling of nuclear facilities, the extension of life of nuclear facilities, the Radiological Protection of human health and the environment, and the research projects on the behavior of nuclear fuel.

Finally, the agenda of this bilateral meeting has included a visit to the facilities of the IRSN in Cadarache where the Spanish delegation has visited several laboratories of interest.

This meeting strengthens the good relationship between the two regulatory bodies (ASN-CSN) and allows to share information and best practices. The next bilateral meeting is scheduled to take place in Spain during 2019.