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Zoning
Provisions concerning the demarcation ofmonitored areas,
controlled areas and specially regulated areas (subject
to special checks) were issued, regardless of the activity
sector, by the Order of 15th May 2006 (published in
the
Official Journal
of 15th June 2006). This Order also
defines the health, safety and maintenance rules to be
observed in these zones.
When defining the regulated zones, different levels of
protection are taken into account: the effective dose for
external exposure and, as applicable, internal exposure
of the whole body; the equivalent doses for external
exposure of the extremities and, as applicable, the dose
rates for thewhole body. AGeneral Directorate for Labour/
ASN joint circular of 18th January 2008 specifies the
implementation procedures.
The Person with Competence in Radiation
protection (PCR)
The PCR is placed under the responsibility of the employer
and tasked with numerous radiation protection duties,
including optimisation, implementation of radiological
monitoring, information about risks, but also demarcation
of regulated areas and job analyses.
Without waiting for the updating of the provisions of
the Labour Code with regard to the PCR, in order to
take account of the provisions of the new Directive
2013/59 concerning the “radiation protection expert /
radiation protection officer” system (see box opposite),
the Order of 26thOctober 2005 concerning PCR training
procedures and trainer certification was repealed by
the Order of 24th December 2013, on the basis of the
recommendations issued by the Advisory Committee
of Experts for Radiation Protection for the Medical and
Forensic Applications of Ionising Radiation (GPMED)
and the Advisory Committee of Experts for Radiation
Protection for Industrial Applications and Research into
Ionising Radiation and the Environment (GPRADE).
The number of days of training was modified according
to the potential risks, with an increase in the number of
days for the most complex installations or those with
the highest risk.
Dosimetry
The approval procedures for the organisations responsible
for worker dosimetry are defined by the Order of
6th December 2003 as amended. The procedures for
themedical monitoring of workers and the transmission
of individual dosimetry data are specified by the Order of
21st June 2013 concerning the conditions for accreditation
of organisations responsible for individual monitoring of
worker exposure to ionising radiation and by the Order
of 17th July 2013 concerning the medical monitoring
passport and dosimetricmonitoring of workers exposed
to radiation. ASN delivers the required approvals to the
dosimetry organisations and laboratories (see chapter 1).
Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom
of 5th December 2013
For workers liable to be exposed to ionising radiation,
the Directive introduces an annual effective dose limit
of 20 mSv, to replace the value of 100 mSv over five
consecutive years. As early as 2003, this limit had
been incorporated into the Labour Code (20 mSv over
12 consecutive months). However, the equivalent dose limit
of 150 mSv over 12 consecutive months for the lens of the
eye will have to be modified and reduced to 20 mSv per year.
The new Euratom Directive will lead to modification
of the existing PCR system, differentiating between
consultancy and more operational duties. The radiation
protection expert is responsible for giving the head
of the company or the employer an opinion on questions
concerning worker and public exposure, while the person
responsible for radiation protection is tasked with operational
implementation of radiation protection. ASN and the DGT
have begun work on this subject.
The new Euratom Directive does not modify the general
rules for the demarcation of monitored and controlled areas.
However, on the basis of the opinions issued by the Advisory
Committee of Experts for Radiation Protection for Industrial
Applications and Research into Ionising Radiation and the
Environment (GPRADE), and the Advisory Committee of
Experts for Radiation Protection for the Medical and Forensic
Applications of Ionising Radiation (GPMED), the DGT and ASN
have already announced their intention during the course of
the transposition work to update and simplify the existing
system on the basis of a graduated approach to risk.
The same applies to the radiological monitoring of workers
for which an assessment of the existing regulatory system
was initiated in late 2013 in collaboration with the DGT and
the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety
(IRSN). The September 2015 publication of a “white paper”
is available on the ASN website and proposes changes which
will be studied at transposition of the new Euratom Directive.
The main recommendations of the working group are as
follows:
• repositioning of the ionising radiation risk in the employer’s
overall risk prevention strategy;
• adaptation of exposure monitoring to the working
situations, thus ensuring that this monitoring is operational
and controllable;
• broadening of access by persons competent in radiation
protection to all dosimetry data, in order to ensure that
they are more reactive and to strengthen their preventive
role.
TO BE NOTED
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CHAPTER 03:
REGULATIONS
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015