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The CEA’s centre in Fontenay-aux-Roses
ASN considers that the level of safety of the facilities
of the CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses centre has improved,
particularly in the control of the fire risk, but is not yet
satisfactory.
In terms of organisation, ASN considers that a substantial
formalisation effort was made in 2015 by the BNI
licensee, particularly with regard to the monitoring of
outside contractors, commitment tracking and deviation
management. Their due implementation over timemust
still be confirmed. This effort must be extended to the
other entities of the CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses centre,
which are involved in the BNIs either directly or through
contractors. The precise formalisation of the interfaces
between the BNIs, the centre’s services and outside
contractors is also an area for progress. The notified
significant events and some of the deviations examined
during inspections reveal deficiencies in the control of the
services of certain outside contractors. This is a recurrent
finding in work carried out under the centre’s multi-
technique contract. ASN observes that this service is
still not properly controlled by the CEA.
In this context, ASN will be particularly attentive to the
consideration of human and organisational factors in
the progress plan that the CEA is to implement in 2016
and in the results of this plan.
The CEA has sent the Minister responsible for Nuclear
Safety a file aiming firstly to push back the set deadline for
completion of the decommissioning and soil remediation
operations, and secondly to propose a revision of the
planned final state. ASN will be particularly attentive
to the justification for this deadline extension and to
the adequacy of the means engaged to carry out these
operations.
1.2 Radiation protection
in the medical field
Radiotherapy
ASNconsiders that the patient radiation protection issues
are satisfactorily catered for in the radiotherapy centres
of the Centre and Limousin regions. The awareness-
raising and oversight action carried out by ASN in
2015 focused on the control of the quality system, the
external audit of the quality controls of the facilities and
the organisation dedicated to internal notifications and
continuous improvement of the quality and safety of
radiotherapy treatments.
The inspections carried out in 2015 highlighted the efforts
made by the radiotherapy centres to formalise practices.
Areas for progress have nevertheless been identified in the
tracking and evaluationof the effectiveness of improvement
actions. These inspections also provided the opportunity
to inform the centres of the recommendations of the
Advisory Committee of Experts in radiation protection
forMedical and forensic applications of ionising radiation
(GPMED) on the conditions of use of the new radiotherapy
techniques and the associated practices, given the recent
deployment and the projected deployment in the short-
or medium-term by several centres in the Centre and
Limousin regions.
Seven significant events were notified to ASN in 2015.
The deviations associated with these events primarily
concern patient set-up, patient identification and the
delivered dose (difference in dose due to measuring
instrument calibration error). Five of these events were
rated level 1 on the ASN-SFRO scale, which has eight
levels. The level-1 rating is assigned to events having no
expected clinical consequences for the patient.
Interventional practices
In view of the 11 inspections it carried out in the
interventional imaging services in theCentre andLimousin
regions in2015, ASNconsiders that occupational radiation
protection is better catered for in the majority of the
inspected units. Surprisingly, it is in some of the major
healthcare establishments of both the public and private
sectors that the inspectors found distinct shortcomings in
making optimumuse of equipment functions to reduce
doses delivered to the patient, in equipment quality controls
and in equipment acceptance processes. ASN considers
that meansmust be provided inmedical radiation physics
and radiation protection to correct these deviations and
to establish protocols for monitoring patients suffering
from serious illnesses.
Two significant events were notified in 2015. They confirm
some of the inspection findings. This being said, the
relatively small number of notifications to the authorities
compared with the number of centres or departments
using these techniques, reveals the necessity to continue
putting in place tools for the identification and analysis
of abnormal situations.
ASN has again observed situations where practitioners
fail to comply with radiation protection measures.
Nuclear medicine
The nuclear medicine departments in the Centre and
Limousin continue theirmodernisation drive, with a large
number of licence modification requests, particularly
for changes of premises. A few of the requests included
the introduction of new radionuclides for therapeutic
purposes. Their utilisations, which introduce newradiation
protection implications, nevertheless remained limited.
Alongside this, ASN stepped up its inspections relating to
the transport of unsealed sources. Serious shortcomings
were observed in certain centres.
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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