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simulation exercises. Nearly 3,700 days of training
were dispensed.
ASN’s roles are thus broken down between monitoring
(50%), authorisation/licensing (25%), regulation (10%),
public information (10%) andmanagement of emergency
situations (5%).
ASNpresented this breakdown to the entity responsible for
informing the Government about the resources available
for regulating nuclear safety and radiation protection
and their development. The conclusions, drafted by
this entity, consisting of the General Inspectorate for
Finances, the General Council for the economy, industry,
energy and technologies and the General Council for
the environment and sustainable development, were
submitted to the Government so that it could present its
report to Parliament, pursuant to the 2015 Budget Act.
* * *
These figures show the scale of the day to day work
done by ASN staff in their oversight of nuclear activities
and exposure to ionising radiation.
In the field of nuclear safety,
ASNoversaw and regulated
the continued operation of Areva’s Comurhex plant,
the Ganil and four 900 MWe reactors operated by EDF.
In 2015, it issued a generic opinion on the third ten-
yearly in-service inspections of the 1,300 MWe reactors
and continued to examine the file regarding the service
life extension of the 900 MWe reactors beyond their
fourth ten-yearly in-service inspection, or in other words
after forty years of operation.
ASN also issued an opinion on the cost of the deep
geological radioactive waste disposal project (Cigéo).
In another area ASN notified the licensees concerned,
Areva and CEA, of its requirements with regard for the
“hardened safety core”.
It issued a position statement on the test programme
designed to characterise the positive macrosegregation
detected on the EPR vessel closure head and asked EDF
to complete the reactor commissioning application file.
It is continuing its work to ensure full application of
the provisions concerning nuclear pressure equipment.
ASN has issued a number of prescriptions addressing a
number of unsatisfactory situations, such as the recovery
of legacy waste at La Hague, preventing the fire risk in
the facility operated in Saclay by CIS bio international
or the tightness of the Bugey reactor 5 containment.
Finally, in 2015, it prepared the iodine tablets renewal
campaign for the populations living in the vicinity of
the 19 French nuclear power plants. This campaign is
part of a broader process to develop a protection culture
among the populations concerned. It will take place
throughout 2016, together with the public authorities,
the associations and elected officials and will use the
national education system as a means of spreading its
message.
In the field of medical radiation protection,
ASN drew
up a 2015 summary of the steps taken to control ionising
radiation doses delivered to patients. The results are
mixed; they reveal the development of good practices,
but inadequate human resources.
ASNpublished recommendations on the implementation
of new radiotherapy techniques and diagnostic reference
levels for medical imaging.
Certain health situations required particular attention.
This was in particular the case with the Timone hospital in
Marseille, or the four incidents rated level 2 on the INES
scale, all of which were related to radiation-protection,
or the nine incidents rated on the ASN-SFRO scale,
notified to ASN in 2015.
In 2015, with the Energy Transition for Green Growth
Act, ASN’s roles were expanded. Under the Ordinance of
10th February 2016, it is now responsible for regulating
source security. This provision will enter into force
no later than 1st July 2017. In 2015, ASN continued
preparatory work prior to taking charge of this new
activity.
* * *
As recalled by the Commission in its editorial, ASN is
facing unprecedented challenges. It is therefore adapting
its workingmethods to ensure that they are proportionate
to the corresponding risks.
Regulation and oversight tailored to the challenges
There are numerous forms of inspection: for the major
issues, ASN carries out “in-depth” inspections, involving
several members of ASN staff and experts from the
Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety
(IRSN). These inspections can last several days in a given
facility and usually concern a specific topic.
For subjects withmore minor implications, ASN adapts
its oversight according to the actual risks. Thus, in 2015,
ASN experimented with a new formof inspection, which
it first of all implemented for conventional radiological
activities carried out by veterinarians on domestic animals.
This was done in close collaboration with the Council of
the order of veterinarians. For this activity, the radiation
protection consequences are minor, but there are a very
large number of facilities. The aim is to identify those
facilities on which ASN needs to focus its efforts. It
envisages extending this approach to other areas under
its responsibility.
Another example of the proportionate approach to
the small-scale nuclear sector in areas with limited
potential consequences: the ASN regional divisions are
THE YEAR 2015
15
ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015