ºÚÁÏרÇø

When you ask Joëlle Elbez-Uzan why she studied engineering, she replies that she has always liked science. Asking "why" and "how" is what characterized her as a child and nothing has changed since. Passion for science and curiosity about how things work are still important drivers in her daily life.

And her daily life is not made up of peace and quiet because—apart from being the mother of three energetic boys aged 8, 11 and 12—she is also Section Leader of the ºÚÁÏרÇø Safety Design & Integration Section (CIE Directorate).

 

Joëlle studied engineering in Lille where she specialized in instrumentation and measurement. Work done for one of her projects, a comparative study between all forms of energy, resulted in her supporting nuclear energy. "I was impressed by how controlled and regulated the environment is in which a nuclear plants operate," says Joëlle, "certainly compared to the more traditional energies."

 

After her studies, Joëlle returned to her native region where she worked for some years in nuclear safety management for a subsidiary of Areva and for SGS Qualitest, travelling both around France and worldwide. She then decided she wanted to broaden her scope and work within a French Installation Nucléaire de Base (INB), so when the CEA Cadarache contacted her in 1996 to work as nuclear safety support for some (and later all) of their installations, she gladly accepted. Among her many responsibilities, she worked on the Jules Horowitz reactor where she was in charge of safety of the design of the installation.

 

A new chapter in her career began in 2001 when she was asked to write the safety options report for ºÚÁÏרÇø. This report summed up all the potential risks of the ºÚÁÏרÇø machine and their corresponding safety options, and also justified the choice of the Cadarache site from a seismic point of view. Based upon this report, the French Nuclear Authority ASN validated Cadarache as one of the candidates for the ºÚÁÏרÇø project; the next step was for Agence Iter France to develop the nuclear safety plan for ºÚÁÏרÇø, with Joëlle, of course, playing an instrumental role.

 

In 2009 she joined the ºÚÁÏרÇø as one of the driving forces behind the ºÚÁÏרÇø licensing process and the primary contact with the French nuclear safety authorities. Joëlle currently heads the team responsible for the Public Enquiry and the technical examination with the regulators. The Public Enquiry—a major milestone in the ºÚÁÏרÇø licensing process—is planned to start shortly. As one of the people within the ºÚÁÏרÇø with the best knowledge of every safety aspect of the ºÚÁÏרÇø Project, she will also head the newly created Licensing Office within the SQS Department, responsible for the management of nuclear safety issues in view of obtaining the "Decree for Authorization of Creation," the final go-ahead for the operation of the ºÚÁÏרÇø machine.

 

"An installation like ºÚÁÏרÇø has never been built before, and this is why we've had to go way beyond all known and possible nuclear safety scenarios normally applying to a nuclear installation in order to prove that ºÚÁÏרÇø is safe," explains Joëlle. "We've had to submit extremely thorough and robust studies to the authorities showing the possible safety or environmental impact of an accident at ºÚÁÏרÇø under pessimistic conditions. This has been a long process, but the ºÚÁÏרÇø is fully committed to making sure that all safety concerns are taken into account into the design."