Home > About ASN > Its roles
Eléments marquants
Eléments marquants
Actions de l'ASN
Activités contrôlées
Téléchargements
Plus
contribuer

Its roles

PdfImpression

REGULATING

ASN contributes to drafting regulations, by giving the Government its opinion on draft decrees and ministerial orders, or by taking regulatory decisions of a technical nature.

AUTHORISING

ASN examines all individual authorisation applications for nuclear facilities. It can grant all authorisations, with the except ion of major author i sat ions for bas ic nuclear installations, such as creation and decommissioning. ASN also issues the licenses provided for in the Public Health Code concerning small - scale nuclear activities and issues authorisations or approvals for radioactive material transport operations.

MONITORING

ASN is responsible for ensuring compliance with the rules and requirements applicable to the facilities or activities within its field of competence. Inspection is one of ASN's main means of monitoring, although it also has appropriate powers of enforcement and sanction.

INFORMING

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

IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

ASN assists the Government and in particular sends the competent Authorities its recommendations concerning the civil security measures to be taken. It monitors the steps taken by the licensee to make the facility safe. It informs the public of the situation.

REGULATION AND MONITORING OF DIVERSE ACTIVITIES AND FACILITIES

Nuclear power plants, management of radioactive waste, nuclear fuel shipments, radioactive material packages, medical facilities, research laboratories, industrial activities, and so on. ASN regulates a wide variety of activities and facilities. This regulation covers:

  • 58 nuclear reactors producing nearly 80% of the electricity consumed in France, along with the EPR reactor currently under construction;
  • all French fuel cycle facilities, from fuel enrichment to reprocessing;
  • several thousand facilities or activities which use sources of ionising radiation for medical, industrial or research purposes;
  • several hundred thousand shipments of radioactive materials made annually nationwide.

THE HELP OF EXPERTS

When taking certain decisions, ASN calls on the expertise of technical support bodies. This is primarily the case with the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). ASN also requests opinions and recommendations from scientific and technical Advisory Committees of experts.

 

Download the pdf Pdf

Contact us | Credits | ASN website