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stakeholders. This tightening of the regulations will also
involve the ordering customerswith regard to justification
and the human and material resources available in the
event of incidents.
Regional initiatives to establish Charters of best practices
in industrial radiography have been inprogress for several
years at the instigationof ASNand the labour inspectorate,
particularly in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Haute-
Normandie,Rhône-Alpes,Nord-Pas-de-CalaisandBretagne/
Pays de la Loire regions and enabled regular exchanges
between the various participants to continue in2015. The
ASNregional divisions andother regional administrations
concerned also organise regional awareness-raising and
discussion symposiawhich are attracting growing interest
from the stakeholders of this branch.
Research establishments
ASN’s monitoring of establishments and laboratories
using radioactive sources for research purposes shows
a distinct improvement in radiation protection in this
sector. Generally speaking, the steps taken in recent years
have produced significant results in the incorporation of
radiationprotection into research activities and an overall
rise in awareness of radiation protection issues.
Themost notable improvements concern the involvement
of the Person Competent in Radiation protection (PCR),
the training of exposed workers, radiation protection
technical controls andwaste andeffluent storage conditions.
Consideredonthewhole,animprovementintheformalising
of procedures is observed, but this trendmust be confirmed
by actually implementing the scheduled actions: internal
radiation protection controls, management and tracking
of significant events and disposal of old sealed sources.
Research activities
The use of ionising radiation in research activities extends to
various fields such as medical research, molecular biology,
the agri-food industry, materials characterisation, etc. It
primarily involves the use of unsealed sources (iodine-125,
phosphorous-32, phosphorous-33, sulphur-35, tritium-3,
carbon-14, etc.). Sealed sources (barium-133, nickel-63,
caesium-137, cobalt-60, etc.) are also used in gas
chromatographs or scintillation counters or, with higher-
activity sources, in irradiators. Electric generators emitting
X-rays are used for X-ray fluorescence or X-ray diffraction
spectrum analyses. One should also note the existence of
scanners for small animals (cancer research) in research
laboratories and medical schools. Particle accelerators are for
their part used in research into matter or for the manufacture
of radionuclides.
The number of licenses issued by ASN in the research sector is
stable at around 800. Each year, ASN carries out an average
of 60 inspections in this sector.
UNDERSTAND
Mössbauer spectrometry
Mössbauer spectrometry is a technique for exploring matter.
From the observation of gamma ray absorption by samples of
matter, it enables a magnetic “identity card” of matter to be
drawn up at microscopic level and the properties of matter to
be estimated at macroscopic level. It enables scientific studies
to be conducted for diverse practical applications such as the
magnets used in electric motors or in cooling systems. This
technique only applies to metallic materials in solid state and
is used mainly on iron and tin analysed by the gamma rays of
cobalt-57 and tin-199m respectively.
In practice, a sample is placed between a vibrating source
and a gamma ray detector. The set-up is coupled to a signal
processing system. For cobalt-57 – the most commonly used
radionuclide – the activity involved is about 1 to 2 GBq.
In 2015 the ASN regional divisions conducted an
inspection campaign in the laboratories that use Mössbauer
spectrometry. A review of these inspections will be drawn
up in 2016 in order to assess the standard of radiation
protection in this sector and to highlight good practices
and areas for improvement.
UNDERSTAND
As mentioned in point 5, the notification criteria and the
regulatory requirementswith regard tonotification are still
to a large extent poorly-known in research facilities andASN
notes that there is little supervisionof radiationprotection
event tracking and notification in the inspected entities,
wheremore than half of themdo not have procedures for
managing significant events.
The technical, economic and regulatory difficulties
concerning the disposal of old sealed sources are often
raised by licensees. The work of the ad hoc working
group created to address this issue as part of the French
National RadioactiveMaterial andWasteManagement Plan
(PNGMDR) for 2012-2015 has led to a modification in
the regulations (Decree 2015-231 of 27thFebruary 2015
relative to the management of disused sealed radioactive
sources) which came into effect on 1st July 2015. This
modification, which aims to facilitate the disposal of sealed
sources, gives source holders the possibility of seeking
different disposal routes with source suppliers or Andra
without making it obligatory to return sources to the
original supplier.
ASN is continuing its collaboration with the General
Inspectorate of the French Education and Research
Administration. An agreement signed in 2014 formalises
discussions on inspection practices and the setting up
of reciprocal information procedures for improving the
effectiveness and complementarity of the inspections.
Veterinary surgeons
With regard to veterinary structures, the administrative
situation has been continuously improving for a
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CHAPTER 10:
INDUSTRIAL, RESEARCH AND VETERINARY USES AND SOURCE SECURITY
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015