ASN Report 2015

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ASN
Its roles
Regulating
ASN contributes to drafting
regulations, by giving the
Government its opinion on draft
decrees and Ministerial Orders, or
by issuing statutory resolutions of
a technical nature.
Authorising
ASN examines all individual
authorisation applications for
nuclear facilities. It can grant all
authorisations, with the exception
of major authorisations for basic
nuclear installations, such as creation
and decommissioning. ASN also
issues the licenses provided for in
the Public Health Code concerning
small-scale nuclear activities and
issues authorisations or approvals
for radioactive substances transport
operations.
Monitoring
ASN is responsible for ensuring
compliance with the rules and
requirements applicable to the
facilities or activities within its field
of competence. Inspection is one of
ASN’s main means of monitoring,
although it also has appropriate
powers of enforcement and sanction.
Informing
Primarily through its website
and its Contrôle magazine,
ASN informs the public and the
stakeholders (Local Information
Committees, environmental
protection associations, etc.) of its
activities and the state of nuclear
safety and radiation protection in
France.
In emergency situations
ASNmonitors the steps taken by the
licensee to make the facility safe. It
informs the public of the situation.
ASN assists the Government. It in
particular sends the competent
Authorities its recommendations
concerning the civil security
measures to be taken.
Regulation and monitoring
of diverse activities and facilities
Nuclear power plants, radioactive
waste management, nuclear fuel
shipments, packages of radioactive
substances, medical facilities,
research laboratories, industrial
activities, etc. ASN monitors and
regulates an extremely varied range
of activities and installations. This
regulation covers:
• 58 nuclear reactors producing
nearly 80% of the electricity
consumed in France, along with
the EPR reactor currently under
construction;
• all French fuel cycle facilities, from
fuel enrichment to reprocessing;
• several thousand facilities or
activities which use sources of
ionising radiation for medical,
industrial or research purposes;
• several hundred thousand
shipments of radioactive substances
nationwide, every year.
The help of experts
When taking certain
decisions, ASN calls
on the expertise of technical
support bodies. This is
primarily the case with
the Institute for Radiation
Protection and Nuclear
Safety (IRSN). The ASN
Chairman is a member
of the IRSN Board.
ASN also requests opinions
and recommendations
from scientific and technical
Advisory Committees
of Experts (GPE).
ASN: ITS ROLES, KEY FIGURES, ITS ORGANISATION 10
ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015