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•
The license or notification issued in accordance with
section 1715 continues to carry the same value as a
license or notification under the Public Health Code,
until a new license is obtained under the Public Health
Code or, failing which, for a maximum period of five
years, in other words no later than 4th September 2019.
In accordance with Article L. 593-3 of the Environment
Code, a facility located within the perimeter of a BNI,
recorded in a section of the ICPE list but necessary for
operation of the BNI, is subject to the BNI system.
By virtue of Article L.1333-9of the PublicHealthCode, the
licences issued to ICPEs inaccordancewith theEnvironment
Code for the possession or use of radioactive sources,
take the place of the licences required under the Public
HealthCode.However, except for theprovisions concerning
procedures, the legislative and regulatory provisions of
the Public Health Code apply to them.
5.3 The regulatory framework
for protection against malicious acts
in nuclear activities
Malicious acts include theft ormisappropriation of nuclear
materials, acts of sabotage and attacks from outside
the BNIs. These last two points must be considered in
the procedures subject to the Environment Code and
regulated and monitored by ASN. In this respect, in
its safety analysis report, the licensee must present an
assessment of the accidents liable to occur in the facility,
regardless of the cause of the accident, including if it
results from a malicious act. This assessment, which
mentions the effects of accidents and the steps taken
to prevent them or mitigate their effects, is taken into
account when determining whether or not the creation
authorisation can be granted. The most important risk
prevention or mitigationmeasures can be the subject of
ASN requirements.
However, ASN is not responsible for either determining
the malicious threats to be considered, nor for regulating
andmonitoring the physical protectionof nuclear facilities
againstmalicious acts. The threats to be consideredwhen
examiningmalicious acts are defined by theGovernment
(General Secretariat for Defence and National Security
– SGDSN).
With regard to protection against malicious acts, two
arrangements instituted by the Defence Code apply to
certain nuclear activities:
•
Chapter III of Title III of Book III of the first part of
the Defence Code defines the measures to protect and
monitor nuclearmaterials. This concerns the following
fusible, fissile or fertilematerials: plutonium, uranium,
thorium,deuterium,tritium,lithium-6,aswellaschemical
compoundscomprisingoneoftheseelements,exceptores.
To prevent the dissemination of these nuclearmaterials,
their import, export, production, possession, transfer,
use and transport are subject to licensing.
•
Chapter II of Title III of Book III of the first part of
the Defence Code defines a system for protection of
establishmentswhich
“ifunavailable,wouldrisksignificantly
compromising the nation’s combat or economic potential, its
securityoritscapacityforsurvival”.
TheTSNActof13thJune
2006 supplemented Article L. 1332-2 of the Defence
Code in order to enable the administrative authority to
apply this system to facilities comprising a BNI
“when
the destruction of or damage to (this BNI) could constitute a
serious danger for the population”.
This protection system
requires that the licensees take the protectivemeasures
stipulated in a particular protection plan prepared by
themandapprovedby the administrative authority. These
measures in particular include effective surveillance,
alarmandmaterial protectionmeasures. If the plan is not
approved and in the event of persistent disagreement,
the decision is taken by the administrative authority.
With regard tonuclear activities outside the scopeof national
defence, these systems aremonitored at the national level
by the Defence and Security High Official (HFDS) at the
Ministry responsible for Energy.
Within a jointworking group, ASNandHFDShold regular
discussions about the accidents included in the safety
analysis reports as well as how some of them could be
the result of a malicious act or an act of terrorism. In this
respect, analysis of accident occurrences and the steps taken
to prevent them ensure that the regulation authorisation
processes carried out pursuant to the Defence Code are
consistentwith those resulting fromtheEnvironmentCode.
For radioactive sourceswhich are not nuclearmaterials as
specified above andwhich are not used in facilities subject
to the protectionobligations specified in theDefenceCode,
there are at present no arrangements for monitoring the
steps taken by those in possession of these sources to
prevent anymalicious acts. Yet, such acts involving some
of these sources could have serious consequences. This is
why, in 2008, the Government adopted the principle of
obligations to take preventivemeasures applicable to the
holders, with implementation thereof being monitored
by ASN. Legislative measures were therefore included in
the TECV Act and Ordinance 2016-128 (see chapter 10,
point 4.6).
5.4 The particular system for
defence-related nuclear activities
and installations
Theprovisions concerningdefence-relatednuclear facilities
and activitieswere codified in theDefenceCode (creation
of a sub-section2 entitled
“Defence-related nuclear facilities
and activities”
in Chapter III of Title II of Book III of the
first part of the legislative part) byOrdinance 2014-792 of
10th July 2014 implementingArticle 55of Act 2013-1168
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CHAPTER 03:
REGULATIONS
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015