ASN Report 2017

88 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 03  - Regulations provisions of Chapter III of Title III of Book III of the first part of the Public Health Code concerning ionising radiation, while retaining the essence of the existing principles and requirements. At a regulatory level, the decrees under preparation, concerning worker protection against the risks arising from ionising radiation and concerning health protection against the dangers resulting from exposure to ionising radiation and the security of ionising radiation sources against malicious acts, are modifying the Labour Code, the Public Health Code, the Environment Code, the Defence Code and the Public Security Code. The Public Health Code Article L. 1333-1 of the Public Health Code defines nuclear activities as activities comprising a risk of human exposure to ionising radiation related to the use either of an artificial source, whether substances or devices, or of a natural source, whether natural radioactive substances or materials containing natural radionuclides. They also include the steps taken to protect individuals from a risk following radioactive contamination of the environment or products from contaminated areas or manufactured from contaminated materials. Article L.1333-2 of the Public Health Code defines the general principles of radiation protection (justification, optimisation and limitation). These principles, described in point 2 of this chapter, underpin the regulatory measures for which ASN has responsibility. The scope of application of Chapter III of Title III of Book III of the first part of the Public Health Code, concerning ionising radiation, includes the measures necessary to prevent or mitigate the risks in various radiological exposure situations: in addition to steps taken to protect individuals from a risk following radioactive contamination of the environment or from products from contaminated areas or manufactured from contaminated materials, the steps taken in a radiological emergency situation or in the event of exposure to a natural source of ionising radiation, radon in particular, are also concerned. The decisions to take these steps must be justified. Their benefits must outweigh their risks and the optimisation principle is now applicable to them. The administrative system described in this chapter will change with the introduction of a simplified intermediate authorisation procedure, called the registration procedure, in addition to the existing notification and authorisation procedures. ASN technical decisions, based on a graded approach to risk, will be necessary to implement this new registration system but also to enable the existing licensing and notification system to be updated (see point 2.1). A specific Article (L. 1333-7) defining the protected interests has been added. These interests are “the protection of public health, salubrity and safety, as well as of the environment, against the risks or detrimental effects resulting from ionising radiation” . The risks to be considered are not only those linked to the performance of the nuclear activity, but now also those linked to malicious acts, from creation of the activity to its cessation. The Public Health Code also institutes the radiation protection inspectorate, in charge of verifying compliance with its radiation protection requirements. This inspectorate, set up and coordinated by ASN, is presented in chapter 4. The Code also defines a system of administrative and criminal sanctions, described in the same chapter. Through the Ordinance of 10th February 2016, the Code was reinforced with the creation of a complete system of monitoring, policing and administrative and criminal sanctions, carried out primarily by ASN and the radiation protection inspectors, with reference to that mentioned in Chapter I of Title VII of Book I of the Environment Code. Environment Code The Environment Code (Article L. 591-1) defines the main concepts. Nuclear security comprises nuclear safety, radiation protection, prevention and combating of malicious acts, as well as civil protection actions in the event of an accident. In some texts, however, the expression “nuclear security” remains limited to the prevention and mitigation of malicious acts. Nuclear safety is “the set of technical provisions and organisational measures - related to the design, construction, operation, shutdown and decommissioning of Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs), as well as the transport of radioactive substances - which are adopted with a view to preventing accidents or limiting their effects” 1 . Radiation protection is defined as “the set of rules, procedures and prevention and surveillance means aimed at preventing or mitigating the direct or indirect harmful effects of ionising radiation on individuals, including in situations of environmental contamination” . Article L. 593-42 of the Environment Code, created by the Ordinance of 10th February 2016, specifies that “the general rules, prescriptions and measures taken in application of this Chapter and of Chapters V and VI for the protection of public health, when they concern occupational radiation protection, apply to the collective protection measures which are the responsibility of the licensee and are designed to ensure compliance with the principles of radiation protection defined in Article L. 1333-2 of the Public Health Code. They apply to the design, operation and decommissioning phases of the installation and are without prejudice to the obligations incumbent on the employer in application of Articles L. 4121-1 et seq. of the Labour Code” . Nuclear transparency is defined as “the set of provisions adopted to ensure the public’s right to reliable and accessible information on nuclear security as defined in Article L. 591-1” . Article L. 591-2 of the Environment Code stipulates the State’s role in nuclear security, requiring that it define the nuclear security regulations and implement the checks necessary for their application. The Ordinance of 10th February 2016 supplements this Article, stipulating that the State “ensures that the regulations concerning nuclear safety and radiation protection and their oversight are assessed and improved, taking into account, where applicable, experience acquired in operation, lessons learned from the nuclear safety analyses carried out for the nuclear installations 1 . Nuclear safety, within the meaning of Article L. 591-1 of the Environment Code, is thus a more limited concept than that of the objectives of the BNI legal System as described in point 3 of this chapter.