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1. VERIFYING THAT THE LICENSEE
ASSUMES ITS RESPONSIBILITIES
1.1 The principles of
ASN’s oversight duties
ASN aims to ensure that the principle of licensee
responsibility for nuclear safety and radiation protection
is respected.
ASN applies the principle of proportionality when
determining its actions, so that the scope, conditions and
extent of its regulatory action is commensurate with the
health and environmental safety implications involved.
Regulation is part of amulti-level approach and is carried
outwith the support of the Institute for RadiationProtection
and Nuclear Safety (IRSN).
It applies to all the phases in the performance of the activity,
including the decommissioningphase for nuclear facilities:
•
before the licensee exercises an activity subject to
authorisation, by reviewing and analysing the files,
documents and information provided by the licensee
to justify its project with regard to safety and radiation
protection. This verification aims to ensure that the
information and demonstration supplied are both
relevant and sufficient;
•
during exercise of the activity, by visits, inspections,
verification of licensee operations entailing significant
potential consequences, reviewof reports suppliedby the
licensee andanalysis of significant events. This verification
comprises sampling and the analysis of justifications
providedby the licenseewith regard to the performance
of its activities.
Toconsolidatetheeffectivenessandqualityofitsactions,ASN
is adopting anapproach involving continuous improvement
of its regulatory practices. It uses the experience feedback
from forty years of nuclear activity inspections and the
exchange of best practices with its foreign counterparts.
1.2 The scope of regulation
of nuclear activities
Article L. 592-21 of the Environment Code states that
ASN must regulate compliance with the general rules
and particular requirements of safety and radiation
protection, applicable to:
•
licensees of BNIs;
•
those in charge of the construction and operation of
Pressure Equipment (PE) used in BNIs;
•
those in charge of radioactive substances transport;
I
n France,
nuclear activity licensees are responsible for the safety of their activity.
They cannot delegate this responsibility, and must ensure permanent surveillance
of both this activity and the equipment used. Given the risks linked to ionising
radiation for humans and the environment, the State regulates nuclear activities, a
task it has entrusted to ASN.
Regulation andmonitoring of nuclear activities is a fundamental duty of ASN. The aim is to
verify that all licensees fully assume their responsibility and comply with the requirements
of the regulations relative to radiation protection and nuclear safety, in order to protect
workers, patients, the public and the environment from risks associated with radioactivity.
Inspection is the keymeans of monitoring available to ASN. Inspection involves one or more
ASN inspectors going to the site or department being inspected or to carriers of radioactive
materials. The inspection is proportionate to the level of risk presented by the installation
or the activity and the way in which the licensee assumes its responsibilities. It consists in
performing spot checks on the conformity of a given situation with regulatory or technical
baseline requirements. After the inspection, a follow-up letter is sent to the head of the
inspected site or activity and published on
www.asn.fr.
Any deviations found during the
inspection can lead to administrative or criminal sanctions.
ASN is developing a broader view of regulation, concerning both the material and the
organisational and human aspects. Its regulatory duties entail the issue of resolutions,
prescriptions, inspection follow-up documents, plus penalties as applicable, along with
assessments of safety and radiation protection in each activity sector.
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CHAPTER 04:
REGULATION OF NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES AND EXPOSURE TO IONISING RADIATION
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015