ASN Report 2017

12 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Roles, organisation and key figures Roles Regulating ASN contributes to drafting regulations, by giving the Government its opinion on draft decrees and Ministerial Orders, or by issuing technical regulations. It ensures that the regulations are clear, accessible and proportionate to the safety issues. Authorising ASN examines all individual authorisation applications for nuclear facilities. It can grant all licenses and authorisations, with the exception of major authorisations for Basic Nuclear Installations, such as creation and decommissioning. ASN issues the licenses provided for in the Public Health Code concerning small- scale nuclear activities and issues licenses or approvals for radioactive substances transport operations. Monitoring ASNis responsible for ensuringcompliance with the rules and requirements applicable to the facilities or activities within its field of competence. Since the Energy Transition for Green Growth Act of 17th August 2015, ASN’s roles now include monitoring the security of radioactive sources against malicious acts. Inspection is ASN’s primary monitoring activity. Nearly 2,000 inspections are thus carried out every year in the fields of nuclear safety and radiation protection. ASN has a range of notification and enforcement powers (formal notice, administrative fines, daily fines, ability to carry out seizure, take samples or require payment of a guarantee, etc.). ASN’s sanctions will be enforced by a Sanctions Committees, created within ASN, in order to maintain the principle of separation between the investigative and sentencing functions. Informing ASN informs the public and other stakeholders (environmental protection associations, Local Information Committees, media, etc.) about its activities and the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France. ASN’s main information channel is its website www.asn.fr. In line with the principle of transparency, ASN supports the actions of the Local Information Committees of the nuclear facilities. In emergency situations ASN monitors the steps taken by the licensee to make the facility safe. It informs the public of the situation. ASN assists the Government. It in particular sends the competent Authorities its recommendations concerning the civil security measures to be taken. Regulation and monitoring of diverse activities and facilities Nuclear power plants, radioactive waste management, nuclear fuel shipments, packages of radioactive substances, medical facilities, research laboratories, industrial activities, etc. ASN monitors and regulates an extremely varied range of activities and facilities. This regulation covers: ཛྷ ཛྷ 58 nuclear reactors producing nearly 80% of the electricity consumed in France, along with the EPR reactor currently under construction; ཛྷ ཛྷ all French fuel cycle facilities, from fuel enrichment to reprocessing; ཛྷ ཛྷ several thousand facilities or activities which use sources of ionising radiation for medical, industrial or research purposes (“small-scale nuclear facilities”); several hundred thousand shipments of radioactive substances nationwide, every year. ASN The support of experts When drawing up its resolutions, ASN calls on outside technical expertise, in particular that of the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). The ASN Chairman is a member of the IRSN Board. ASN also calls on the opinions and recommendations of seven Advisory Committees of Experts, from a variety of scientific and technical backgrounds.