The notification and licensing system

The new legislative base introduced into the Public Health Code means that decrees passed after advice of the Council of State can be used to lay down general rules concerning the conditions for prohibition, licensing and notification of use of ionising radiation (art. L.1333-2 and 4), as well as rules for artificial or natural radionuclides management (art. L.1333-6 to L.1333-9). These licences and notifications concern all applications of ionising radiation generated by radionuclides or by electrical X-ray generators, whether for medical, industrial or research purposes. Some may however benefit from exemptions.

Exposure to TENORM

The transposition of above-mentioned directive 96/29/Euratom also led to new provisions being defined to assess and reduce exposure to naturally-occurring ionising radiation (NORM), in particular exposure to radon, when human activities contribute to enhancing this exposure (article L. 1333-10 of the Public Health Code).

Inspection of radiation protection

In 2004, new provisions were introduced, creating the new radiation protection inspectorate (art. L. 1333-17 to L. 1333-19), oversight of which is entrusted to the ASN. An implementing decree setting the procedures for designating, qualifying and swearing-in the radiation protection inspectors is currently being finalised. The radiation protection inspectors, designated by the ministers for Health and Labour, on proposals from the DGSNR, will mainly be chosen from among ASN staff, but also from among inspectors of installations classified on environmental protection grounds working in the DRIREs. The administrative and judicial police powers of the radiation protection inspectors were also defined (art. L. 1337-1-1).

Finally, a new system of legal sanctions accompanies these provisions (articles L. 1337-5 to L. 1337-9).

The new provisions of the Labour Code (articles L. 230-7-1 and L. 230-7-2) introduce a legislative base specific to the protection of workers, whether or not salaried employees, with a view to transposition of Council directive No 90/641/Euratom of 4 December 1990 on the operational protection of outside workers exposed to the risk of ionizing radiation during their activities in controlled areas , and the above-mentioned Council directive No 96/29/Euratom. They bring French legislation into line with directive 90/641/Euratom concerning non-salaried workers exposed to ionising radiation.

A link with the three radiation protection principles in the Public Health Code is established in the Labour Code, and the rules concerning worker protection are the subject of a specific decree (decree 2003-296 of 31 March 2003).