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to their exposure to cosmic radiation
at high altitude. Of the recorded
doses, 85% are between 1 mSv per
year and 5 mSv per year, while 15%
are below 1 mSv per year.
Outlook
2016 will more particularly be
devoted to the transposition into
French law of the new European
basic radiation protection standards
concerning exposure to radon;
the new requirements will lead to
increased communication about
this risk and the organisation,
collection and analysis of the results
of measurements taken in the home.
With regard to the regular increase in
doses delivered to patients through
medical imaging procedures, ASN
will continue with the measures it
initiated in 2011 to maintain the
engagement by the health authorities
and health professionals at all levels,
in particular by raising the awareness
of the practitioners prescribing the
examinations.
The principles and stakeholders
in regulating nuclear safety, radiation
protection and environmental protection
02
Nuclear activities must be carried
out in compliance with the
eight fundamental principles
of the Environment charter, the
Environment Code and the Public
Health Code.
•
the principle of nuclear licensee
responsibility for the safety of its
facility;
•
the “polluter-pays” principle:
the polluter responsible for the
environmental damage bears the
cost of pollution prevention and
mitigation measures;
•
the precautionary principle: the
lack of certainty, in the light of
current technical and scientific
knowledge, should not delay
the adoption of proportionate
prevention measures;
•
the participation principle: the
populations must take part in
drafting public decisions;
•
the justification principle: a nuclear
activity may only be carried out if
justified by the advantages it offers
by comparison with the exposure
risks it can create;
•
the optimisation principle:
exposure to ionising radiation
must be kept as low as is reasonably
achievable;
•
the limitation principle: the
regulations set an individual’s
ionising radiation exposure limits
as a result of a nuclear activity
(except for medical purposes);
•
the prevention principle:
anticipation of any environmental
damage through rules and actions
taking account of the best available
techniques at an economically
acceptable cost.
The nuclear activity regulators
The current French organisation for
the regulation of nuclear safety and
radiation protection was established
by the 13th June 2006 Act on
Transparency and Security in the
nuclear field (TSN Act), as codified
in the Environment Code.
Parliament defines the applicable
legislative framework andmonitors
its implementation, in particular
through its special commissions,
which conduct hearings, or
the Parliamentary Office for
the Evaluation of Scientific and
Technological Choices (OPECST),
which has issued a number of reports
on this subject and to which ASN
presents its annual
Report on nuclear
safety and radiationprotection inFrance.
On the advice of ASN, the
Government defines the general
regulations for nuclear safety and
radiation protection. Again on the
advice of ASN, it also issues major
individual resolutions concerning
BNIs (creation authorisation, etc.).
It is responsible for civil protection
in an emergency.
In the current governmental
organisation, the Minister for the
Environment, Energy and the Sea is
responsible for nuclear safety and,
together with the Minister for Social
Affairs and Health, for radiation
protection.
In each
département
, the Prefect
– as the State’s representative –
is responsible for the population
protection measures. The Prefect
is also involved during various
procedures to oversee local
coordination and provide the
Ministers or ASN with an opinion.
A SN i s a n i n d e p e n d e n t
administrative Authority created
by the TSN Act. It is tasked with
regulating nuclear activities and
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ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN 2015