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for the nuclear security of nuclear
installations, revised in July 2014.
At a national level, the legal
framework for nuclear activities
has been extensively modified in
recent years, most latterly with
the adoption of the 17th August
Energy Transition for Green Growth
Act (TECV) and the publication of
the Ordinance of 10th February
2016 containing various nuclear-
related provisions. The main texts
are contained in the Public Health
Code and the Environment Code.
Other texts are more specialised,
such as the Labour Code, which
deals with radiation protection
of workers, or the Defence Code,
which contains provisions regarding
defence-related nuclear activities or
the prevention of malicious acts.
Finally, various texts apply to certain
nuclear activities but without being
specific to them.
The activities or situations regulated
by ASN include a number of different
categories presented below, along
with the relevant regulations.
Small-scale nuclear activities:
this category covers the many
fields that use ionising radiation,
including medicine (radiology,
radiotherapy, nuclear medicine),
human biology, research, industry
and certain veterinarian, forensic or
foodstuff conservation applications.
The Public Health Code created
a system of authorisation or
notification for the manufacture,
possession, distribution (including
import and export), and utilisation
of radionuclides. ASN grants
the licenses and receives the
notifications. The Ordinance
of 10th February 2016 added a
system of registration mid-way
between authorisation/licensing
and notification.
The general rules applicable
to small-scale nuclear facilities
are the subject of ASN statutory
resolutions. Thus, in 2015, ASN
expanded the list of activities
requiring notification and specified
the rules for registering and
monitoring radioactive sources.
Exposure of individuals to
radon:
human protection is based
primarily on the obligation of
monitoring in geographical areas
where the concentration of naturally
occurring radon can be high. This
monitoring is mandatory in certain
premises open to the public and in
the workplace. A strategy to reduce
this exposure is necessary, should
the measurements taken exceed
the action levels laid down in the
regulations. In 2015, ASN adopted
two statutory resolutions concerning
radon measurement.
Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs):
these are the most important nuclear
facilities; they are the facilities of
the nuclear electricity generating
sector (nuclear power plants, main
facilities of the “fuel cycle”), the large
storage and disposal facilities for
radioactive substances, certain
research facilities and the large
accelerators or irradiators. There
are nearly 150 of them, spread over
about 40 sites.
The legal regime for the BNIs is
defined by section IX of Book V
of the Environment Code and its
implementing Decrees. This regime
is said to be “integrated” because
it aims to prevent or manage all
risks and detrimental effects that a
BNI is liable to create for humans
and the environment, whether
or not radioactive in nature. It in
particular requires that the creation
of a BNI be authorised by a decree
issued on the advice of ASN and
that ASN authorise start-up of the
installation, stipulate requirements
regarding its design and operation
with respect to protection of the
population and the environment
and authorise delicensing of the
installation.
The TECVAct modified the oversight
of BNI decommissioning bymaking a
distinction between final shutdown,
decided on by the licensee, and
decommissioning, the conditions
of which are stipulated in a decree
issued on the advice of ASN and
based on a file submitted by the
licensee, in compliance with the
principle of immediate dismantling
which is now enshrined in law.
ASN is working on a revision of the
BNI general technical regulations:
after publication of the Ministerial
Order of 7th February 2012 setting
the general rules applicable to BNIs,
ASN thus initiated the publication of
about fifteen statutory resolutions;
in 2015, it adopted two resolutions
concerning waste management and
the content of the BNI safety analysis
report. This system is supplemented
by guides, which are not legally
binding and which present ASN
policy; twenty guides have so far
been published.
Pressure equipment specially
designed for BNIs is subject to
special rules updated in 2015 by
the publication of the Decree of
1st July 2015 and the order of
30th December 2015.
The transport of radioactive
substances:
the safe transport of
radioactive substances is based on
the “defence in depth” principle
involving on the one hand the
packaging and its content, which
must withstand the foreseeable
transport conditions, and on the
other the means of transport and
its reliability, plus the response
measures deployed in the event of
an incident or accident.
The regulations concerning the
transport of radioactive materials are
based on the IAEA recommendations
integrated into the international
agreements covering the various
modes of dangerous goods
transport. At a European level, the
regulations are grouped into a single
24th September 2008 Directive,
transposed into French law by an
amended Order dated 29th May
2009, known as the “TMD Order”.
ASN is in particular responsible for
approving package models for the
most dangerous shipments.
Contaminated sites and soils:
the
management of sites contaminated
by residual radioactivity warrants
specific radiation protection
measures, in particular if remediation
is envisaged. Depending on the
current and future uses of the site,
decontamination objectives must
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ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN 2015