ASN Report 2015

staff shortages or instability, particularly concerning

medical physicists and sometimes radiation oncologists.

These difficulties hinder the progress initiatives and

led ASN in 2013 to ask one of the centres concerned

to take immediate corrective action. This centre was

subject to tightened monitoring by ASN in 2014 and

2015, which revealed an improvement in the situation

which must be continued and consolidated.

Interventional practices

ASN maintained its tightened monitoring in the

departments with interventional activities (see chapter 9,

point 1.1.2). The activities in these facilities entail risks

for both patients and workers, and these risks must be

duly controlled. The inspections carried out revealed a

contrasting situation and many areas for improvement,

particularlywith regard to the training and qualification of

the staff using the equipment, equipment quality controls,

staff personal protection equipment, medical monitoring

of non-salariedworkers, or the optimisation of practices

in this sector. ASN notes that radiation protection is

generally better integrated in the rooms dedicated to

interventional practices than in the operating theatres. ASN

was informed of two events that led to the appearance of

deterministic effects on the skin of the patients involved.

Nuclear medicine

In 2015, ASN inspected a quarter of the nuclear medicine

departments in Normandie. The inspections revealed a

satisfactory situation, although a fewareas for improvement

remain in the coordination of the prevention measures

for outside contractors and taking account of radiation

exposure of workers’ extremities (hands).

Computed Tomography

ASN continued its inspections of computed tomography

departments in 2015. In the light of these inspections,

occupational radiationprotection appears to be satisfactory

in general. ASNconsiders that patient radiation protection

measures are still somewhat variable and are often based

on the use of the optimisation procedures specified by

the machine manufacturers. The level of involvement of

medical physicists varies fromone department to another;

increasing their involvement could help to optimise

practices. The use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

techniques when indicated as an alternative remains

limited due to the low availability of MRI scanners.

1.3 Radiation protection

in the industrial sector

Industrial radiography

The control of industrial radiography remains a priority

for ASN, which carried out unannounced night-time

inspections on worksites in 2015. Depending on the

companies, these inspections brought to light a widely

contrasting picture of the way the risk of worker exposure

to ionising radiation is taken into account. Althoughwork

conditions are improving on thewhole, ASNobserves that

some companies still have to make significant progress.

Following a first similar case in2014, another unacceptable

situation concerning failure to define and delimit a work

area was discovered in 2015 during an unannounced

inspection, which ledASN to informthe Public Prosecutor.

At the same time, ASN continued, in collaboration

with DIRECCTE (Regional Directorate for Enterprises,

Competition, Consumption, Labour and Employment)

of Haute-Normandie and CARSAT (Retirement and

occupational health insurance fund) of Normandie, its

promotion of good practices with the signatories of the

charter of good practices in industrial radiography in

Haute-Normandie. At present, some thirty companies,

ordering customers and radiology companies have signed

this charter. A reflection onwhether to extend this charter

to the whole of Normandy is currently in progress.

1.4 Nuclear safety and radiation

protection in the transport

of radioactive substances

ASNconsiders that the regional consigners involved in the

transport of radioactive substances maintained a level of

safety in 2015 that was on the whole satisfactory. Nuclear

medicine units, however, must further improve their

integration of the requirements of the ADR regulations,

particularly when re-shipping packages.

ASN conducted an inspection of the safety of a convoy

of vitrified radioactive waste shipped from the Sellafield

plant in the United Kingdom to Switzerland, during the

transfer of the packages at the Valogne railway terminal;

twomembers of associations represented on the HCTISN

(High Council for Transparency and Information on

Nuclear Safety) attended part of the inspection. The

measurements taken confirmed effective compliance

with the regulatory limits for equivalent dose rates and

contamination levels. The inspectors considered that

the transport safety provisions were satisfactory on the

whole (see chapter 11).

With regard to shipments of radioactive substances from

BNIs inNormandie, ASN considers that on the whole the

requirements specific to these operations are satisfied.

ASNnevertheless noted during its inspections of theNPPs

that EDFmust show greater rigour in the verification and

compliance of the documents concerning the conformity

of radioactive substance transport packages, as each type

of shipment must have a specific file.

In 2015, ASN continued checking progressive

implementation of the new regulatory requirements

applicable to on-site transport operations in the LaHague

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CHAPTER 08 :

REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION

ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015