ASN Report 2017

150 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 04  - Regulation of nuclear activities and exposure to ionising radiation This network is being deployed for two main reasons: ཛྷ ཛྷ to pursue the implementation of a quality assurance policy for environmental radioactivity measurements by setting up a system of laboratory approvals granted by ASN resolution; ཛྷ ཛྷ to ensure transparency by making the results of this environmental monitoring and information about the radiological impact of nuclear activities in France available to the public on a specific RNM website (see point 4.2). The approvals cover all components of the environment; water, soils or sediments, all biological matrices (fauna, flora, milk), aerosols and atmospheric gases. The measurements concern the main artificial or natural gamma, beta or alpha emitting radionuclides, as well as the ambient gamma dosimetry (see Table 9). The list of the types of measurements covered by an approval is set by the above-mentioned ASN resolution of 29th April 2008 amended. In total, about fifty types of measurements are covered by approvals. There are just as many corresponding inter- laboratory comparison tests. These tests are organised by IRSN in a 5-year cycle, which corresponds to the maximum approval validity period. 4.3.1 Laboratory approval procedure ASN resolution 2008-DC-0099 of 29th April 2008 amended, specifies the organisation of the national network and sets the approval arrangements for the environmental radioactivity measurement laboratories. The approval procedure includes: ཛྷ ཛྷ presentation of an application file by the laboratory concerned, after participation in an Inter-laboratory Comparison Test (ILT); ཛྷ ཛྷ review of it by ASN; ཛྷ ཛྷ review of the application files - which are made anonymous - by a pluralistic approval commission which delivers an opinion on them. The laboratories are approved by ASN resolution, published in its Official Bulletin . The list of approved laboratories is updated every six months. 4.3.2 The approval commission The approval commission is tasked with ensuring that the measurement laboratories have the organisational and technical competence to provide the RNM with high-quality measurement results. The commission is authorised to propose approval, rejection, revocation or suspension of approval to ASN. It issues a decision on the basis of an application file submitted by the candidate laboratory and its results in the inter-laboratory comparison tests organised by IRSN. It meets every six months. The commission, chaired by ASN, comprises qualified persons and representatives of the State services, laboratories, standardising authorities and IRSN. ASN resolution 2013-CODEP-DEU-2013-061297 of 12th November 2013, appointing candidates to the environmental radioactivity measurement laboratories approval commission, renewed the mandates of the commission’s members for a further five years. During the course of 2018, ASN will be adopting a new decision to appoint members to the approval commission. 4.3.3 Approval conditions Laboratories seeking approval must set up an organisation meeting the requirements of standard NF EN ISO/IEC 17025 concerning the general requirements for the competence of calibration and test laboratories. In order to demonstrate their technical competence, they must take part in Inter-laboratory Comparison Tests (ILTs) organised by IRSN. The ILT programme, which now operates on a five-yearly basis, is updated annually. It is reviewed by the approval commission and published on the national network’s website ( www.mesure-radioactivite.fr ). Up to 70 laboratories sign up for each test, including a number of laboratories from other countries. To ensure that the laboratory approval conditions are fully transparent, precise assessment criteria are used by the approval commission. In 2017, IRSN organised six ILTs. Since 2003, 70 ILTs have been carried out covering nearly 50 types of approval. The most numerous approved laboratories (57) are in the field of monitoring of radioactivity in water. About thirty to forty laboratories are approved for measurement of biological matrices (fauna, flora, milk), atmospheric dust, air, or ambient gamma dosimetry. 31 laboratories deal with soils and sediments. Although most laboratories are competent to measure gamma emitters in all environmental matrices, only about ten of them are approved to measure carbon-14, transuranic elements or radionuclides of the natural chains of uranium and thorium in water, soil and sediments and the biological matrices (grass, plant crops or livestock breeding, milk, aquatic fauna and flora, etc.). In 2017, ASN issued 123 approvals or approval renewals. As at 1st January 2018, the total number of approved laboratories stood at 65, which represents 880 approvals of all types currently valid. The detailed list of approved laboratories and their scope of technical competence is available on www.asn.fr . 5. Identifying and penalising deviations ASN implements enforcement measures obliging a party responsible for an activity to restore compliance with the regulations, along with penalties. 5.1 Ensuring that penalty decisions are fair and consistent In certain situations in which the licensee fails to comply with the regulations or legislation, or when it is important that appropriate action be taken by it to remedy the most serious risks without delay, ASN may impose the penalties provided for by law.