	Foreword The year 2009 Presentation The commission Keytopics The ASN's organisation
	Nuclear activities: ionising radiations and health and environmental risks The principles and stakeholders in nuclear safety regulation, radiation protection and protection of the environment Regulations Regulation of nuclear activities and exposure to ionising radiations Radiological emergencies Public information and transparency International relations Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection
	Medical uses of ionising radiations Non-medical uses of ionising radiations Transport of radioactive materials EDF nuclear power plants Nuclear fuel cycle installations Nuclear research facilities and various nuclear installations Safe decommissioning of basic nuclear installations Radioactive waste and polluted sites
	Annual report 2009 - PDF format Previous reports The INES scale The ASN-SFRO scale Strategic plan for 2010 - 2012
	Nuclear Security and Transparency Act Waste Act Commissioner's biographies

Presentation

Présentation Created by the nuclear transparency and security act of 13 june 2006, ASN is an independent administrative authority tasked, on behalf of the state, with regulating nuclear safety and radiation protection in order to protect workers, patients and the environment from the hazards involved in nuclear activities. It also contributes to informing the public.

Its core duty

Regulations

ASN contributes to drafting of regulations, by giving the Government its opinion on draft decrees and ministerial orders, or by issuing technical regulatory decisions. ASN also makes the individual decisions stipulated in the Public Health Code.

Inspection

ASN checks compliance with the rules and specifications applicable to the installations and activities within its field of competence. Inspection is one of the primary means of verification available to ASN, which also has appropriate powers of enforcement and punishment.

Information

In particular through its website www.asn.fr and its Contrôle magazine, ASN informs the public and other stakeholders (local information committees, environmental protection associations, etc), about its activities and the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France.

In the event of an emergency, ASN assists the Government.
It in particular sends the competent authorities its recommendations regarding the civil protection measures to be taken.

Regulation of a diversity of activities and installations

ASN regulation covers a wide variety of activities and installations, including nuclear power plants, radioactive waste management, nuclear fuel transport, radioactive material packages, medical installations, research laboratories, industrial activities, and in particular:

58 nuclear reactors producing most of the electricity consumed in France, as well as the EPR reactor currently under construction;
all French installations involved in the fuel cycle, from enrichment to reprocessing;
several thousand installations and activities using sources of ionising radiation for medical, industrial or research purposes;
several hundred thousand consignments of radioactive materials shipped nationwide, every year.

A few key figures

More than 440 staff, with close to half of them in the 11 regional divisions.
245 inspectors distributed among the regional divisions and the departments
75% management level.
A total budget of 145 million euros, including 78 million devoted to assessments.
More than 880 inspections per year on nuclear installations and radioactive material transport.
Nearly 1220 inspections per year in the medical, industrial and research sectors.
More than 5,500 inspection follow-up letters published on the website www.asn.fr

Expert assistance

In making certain decisions, ASN calls on the expertise of technical support organisations.

The Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) is its main support organisation.

ASN also asks for opinions and recommendations from the scientific and technical advisory committees of experts.

ASN's aim is to provide efficient, impartial, legitimate and credible nuclear regulation, recognised by the citizens and regarded internationally as a benchmark for good practice.