REGULATIONS

ASN is continuing with the publication of technical regulatory decisions required by the Public Health Code and the Labour Code. A number of decisions should therefore be issued in 2012, including those concerning the design and operating rules for medical facilities using ionising radiation, the minimum technical design rules applicable to facilities using X-rays, the design rules applicable to electrical devices emitting X-rays, the registration, monitoring, recovery and disposal of sources, and the identification and marking of high-level sealed sources.

ASN will also be assisting the Government with coming work on the transposition into French law of the new Euratom directives, whether the directive concerning radiation protection, or that concerning the management of waste and spent fuel.

With regard to the new radiation protection directive and in order to prepare for the transposition, ASN will in 2012 be conducting an analysis of the legislative modifications that will probably be necessary and will then start specific work on medical physics, the radiation protection expert (RPE), the radiological emergency and post-accident response teams and natural radioactivity in construction materials.

With regard to BNIs, ASN will in 2012 continue its work to overhaul the general technical regulations. The order setting out the BNI general rules has already been issued on 7th February 2012 (published on 8th February 2012). 2012 should also be marked by the publication of regulatory decisions, some of which have already been through the public consultation process. The publication of these texts is a new and significant step in the project to overhaul the regulations. The order of 7th February 2012 supplements and clarifies the framework created by the TSN Act and the "BNI procedures" decree, by formally stipulating the requirements based on experience feedback from several years of regulating nuclear facilities, thus giving them an appropriate legal underpinning. The publication of the order of 7th February 2012 is also a means of ensuring that the requirements ASN considers to be essential, and which were generally specified individually subsequent to periodic safety reviews, can now be applied clearly and uniformly to all facilities. Entry into force of regulatory decisions will mark the completion of the transposition into French law of the "reference levels" adopted by WENRA. As this entry into force is scheduled for 1st July 2013, 2012 could be devoted to disseminating and assimilating the provisions of the order of 7th February 2012, for instance by the licensees.

ASN will propose to the ministers responsible for nuclear safety modifications to decree 2007-1557 of 2nd November 2007 concerning BNIs and the regulation of the nuclear safety of the transport of radioactive materials, known as the "BNI procedures" decree, on the basis of the feedback gathered with respect to its implementation.

ASN will assist the Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing with integrating the regulatory requirements in force into the Environment Code.

Working groups will continue their work on drafting the next revision of the regulations concerning the transport of radioactive materials. They will in particular deal with fissile exceptions, the acceleration levels to be considered for package tie-down, and the interim measures and requirements.

Lastly, ASN hopes in 2012 to see the completion of the study into setting up a system to control "source security", which began several months ago. This control system will aim to guarantee the application of measures to protect the most dangerous sources of ionising radiation against malicious acts, from production through to disposal. ASN is thus working on drafting the corresponding legislative and regulatory requirements to be included in the bill ratifying ordinance 2012-6 of 5th January 2012 amending books I and V of the Environment Code. Following discussion by the Cabinet on 21st March 2012, this bill was tabled before the Senate. If adopted, these requirements should be incorporated into the Public Health Code.