159 / 536
The Act also makes provision for interim measures to
safeguard security and public health and safety or protect
the environment. ASN can therefore:
•
provisionally suspend operation of a BNI, immediately
notifying theministers responsible for nuclear safety, in
the event of any serious and imminent risk;
•
at all times require assessments and implementation of
the necessary measures in the event of a threat to the
abovementioned interests.
Infringements are written up in reports by the nuclear
safety inspectors and transmitted to the Public Prosecutor’s
Office, whichdecides onwhat subsequent action, if any, is
to be taken. The Environment Code makes provision for
criminal penalties, detailed inArticles L. 596-10 toL. 596-
12; these penalties include fines of €7,500 to €150,000
plus a possible prison term of 1 to 3 years, depending on
the nature of the infringement. For legal persons found to
be criminally liable, the amount of the fine ismultipliedby
ten. When the events mentioned have seriously affected
the interests mentioned in Article L. 593-1, the prison
sentences and the corresponding fines are doubled.
Decree 2007-1557 of 2nd November 2007 concerning
BNIs and the regulation of the transport of radioactive
substances with respect to nuclear safety, also imposes
class 5 fines for infringements as detailed in its Article 56.
With regard topressure equipment, themanufacturers and
approved organisations are considered to be “licensees”.
Thus, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter VII of titleVof
bookVof the Environment Code, which apply tohigh-risk
products and equipment, including pressure equipment,
ASNwhich is in charge ofmonitoring these items inBNIs,
has powers of sanction against licensees. These provisions
in particular enable it to order the payment of a fine, plus
an additional daily payment applicable until such time as
compliance with the formal notice is effective.
Inaddition to theseprovisions,whichwill be supplemented
by implementing decrees, the Decree of 13th December
1999 concerning pressure equipment also comprises
enforcementmeasures and sanctions against licensees and
manufacturers of pressure equipment. These provisions
aim to ban the marketing, commissioning or continued
operation of an equipment item and to serve the licensee
with formal notice to take all steps to ensure conformity.
5.2.2 For persons in charge of small-scale nuclear
activities, approved organisations and laboratories
The PublicHealthCodemakes provision for administrative
andcriminal sanctions in the event of breachof the radiation
protection requirements.
Administrative decision-making powers liewithASNand
can entail:
•
temporaryor definitive licensewithdrawals after receiving
formal notice;
•
interim suspension of an activity (whether licensed or
notified) if urgent measures are required to safeguard
human health;
•
revocation or suspension of any approvals it has issued.
The formal notice prior to revocation of a license (based
on Article L.1333-5 of the Public Health Code) concerns
implementation of all the requirements of the “ionising
radiation” Chapter of the legislative part of the Public
HealthCode (Articles L.1333-1 to L.1333-20), regulatory
requirements and the stipulations of the license. Temporary
or final revocation of the license by ASN must be fully
explained inadecisionwithinonemonth following serving
of formal notice.
The formal notices prior to criminal sanctions (based on
Article L.1337-6 of the PublicHealthCode) are served by
ASN. They concern the requirements of Articles L.1333-2,
L.1333-8 (human exposure monitoring, protection and
informationmeasures), L.1333-10 (monitoringof exposure
to enhancednatural radioactivity and inpremises open to
the public) and L.1333-20 (certain implementations of
the chapter of the Public HealthCode relating to ionising
radiation, as determined by decrees).
Infringements are written up in reports by the radiation
protection inspectors and transmitted to the Public
Prosecutor’s Office, which decides on what subsequent
action, if any, is to be taken. The Public Health Code
makes provision for criminal sanctions as detailed in
Articles L.1337-5 to L.1337-9 and range from a fine of
€3,750 to one year of imprisonment and a fine of €15,000.
5.2.3 For noncompliance with Labour Law
In the performance of their duties in NPPs, the ASN’s
labour inspectors have at their disposal all the inspection,
decision-making and enforcement resources of ordinary
law inspectors. Observation, formal notice, report,
injunction (to obtain immediate cessation of the risks) or
even shutdown of the worksite, offer a range of incentive
and constrainingmeasures for the ASN labour inspectors
that is broader than that available to the nuclear safety
or radiation protection inspectors.
The labour inspectors have special decision-makingpowers
enablingthemtochecktheemployer’sdisciplinarycapability,
toprotect the general interests fromaneconomic standpoint
and to act as arbitrator, if necessary by delegation from
the Regional Directorate for Enterprises, Competition,
Consumption, Labour and Employment (DIRECCTE).
5.2.4 2015 results concerning enforcement
and sanctions
As a result of infringements observed, the ASN inspectors
(nuclear safety inspectors, radioactive substances transport
safety inspectors, labour inspectors and radiationprotection
159
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