Orano - Annual Activity Report 2025 225 SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT 4 Social and societal information Nuclear safety is based on cultural, managerial and organizational principles, including: ● the primary liability of the nuclear operator and the liability of the employer; ● a clearly defined internal system of responsibilities, based on explicit delegations in terms of safety, security, and radiation protection; ● a high level of skills and know-how developed through appropriate and regularly-evaluated training actions; ● an independent safety organization, which provides shared expertise and independent control of the operational line; ● a crisis management organization to take measures, in the event of an incident, to secure facilities and equipment, limit consequences, and provide internal and external information; ● a risk analysis based on an approach proportionate to the challenges, taking into account organizational, human factors and feedback; ● transparent dialogue with all stakeholders, based on highquality information, enabling objective assessment of the safety status of the group’s facilities and activities. Safety studies for the facilities updated every 10 years Safety studies are carried out for each facility. The safety studies carried out for each facility take into consideration internal risks of nuclear (criticality, radiolysis, etc.) and non-nuclear origin (chemicals, handling, fire, etc.) from the design stage, as well as external risks (tornado, earthquake, etc.). The risks are reassessed every 10 years during the periodic review of each regulated nuclear facility (INB). These reviews help to regularly reassess the safety level of a facility, taking into account the latest regulatory changes and the best available techniques. The purpose of this exercise is to obtain the necessary approvals from the competent safety authority to continue operating a facility for the next 10 years. A system dedicated to safety of nuclear material transport The group is exposed to the risk of accidents during the transport of radioactive material or hazardous chemical substances by rail, sea or road. Compliance with the regulations in force is ensured by all business units and in particular the Nuclear Packages and Services Business Unit, which operates a “transport supervision” process. In order to ensure the safety and protection of populations, property and the environment in the public domain, the transport of radioactive and nuclear materials is also subject to the principle of “defense in depth”, which consists of setting up successive lines of defense (casking performance, compliance with safety requirements, compliance with security requirements, crisis management organization) to prevent accidents and limit the effects. Where possible, Orano also promotes rail transport. The group carries out its transport operations in accordance with the international and national regulations in force. In terms of the transport of radioactive materials, nuclear safety is first and foremost based on casking. The cask is designed to protect people and the environment, both under normal conditions and in transport accident situations, regardless of the mode of transport used. The transport of radioactive materials is subject to planned or unannounced inspections and checks by the competent authorities as well as the Orano Transport Supervision Department. Orano organizes around 200 inspections per year around the world to ensure compliance with applicable regulations. Orano’s staff or its subcontractors involved in the handling and transport of radioactive materials also receive appropriate training in radiation protection and are subject to dosimetric monitoring. An industrial safety action plan that is up to the challenges On the French sites classified as high-threshold Seveso, hazard studies are conducted and a prevention policy for major risks is implemented to ensure the protection of the environment and the public. Orano took part in the various work organized by France Chimie following the Lubrizol accident of September 26, 2019, and implemented action plans to improve the prevention of industrial risks based on four components: skills development, improvement of employees’ industrial safety culture, risk prevention (strengthening of the monitoring of inventories of hazardous substances, etc.), and the implementation of standards and indicators across the group. In 2025, the deployment of a chemical product inventory management tool continued, in accordance with the action plan resulting from Lubrizol’s feedback. Following several significant events relating to industrial safety (fire, uncontrolled gas emissions), which had no impact on our mining operations, an ambitious action plan was launched in 2020 to provide mining sites with a system equivalent to the existing industrial safety management system for French SEVESO establishments. In 2025, an automatic fire protection system using intensive watering, deluge type, was installed in the Muyumkum ammonium nitrate storage building at the Katco site in Kazakhstan. This equipment significantly reduces the risk of fire/ammonium nitrate explosion on site. These actions also help to limit the impact and likelihood of an accidental spill with potential consequences for the environment, which is discussed in Section 4.2.4. Emergency and crisis management Orano is also equipped with a crisis management system to manage emergency situations, both for the safety and security of facilities and for the protection of employees, the public, and the environment. Around 100 exercises are organized each year, including some with government agencies and supervisory authorities. The nuclear sites have response teams available on site 24 hours a day. These teams are trained and conduct drills in all types of emergency or safety situation. Since 2015, Orano has also had an Orano National Intervention Force (FINA) in the wake of Fukushima as part of the Complementary Safety Studies. It is made up of nearly 250 volunteers from all entities, trained and ready to provide assistance in their area of expertise in the event of a major incident on a group site.
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