ASN Report 2018

ASN regional divisions playing a front-of-stage role in the prevention of the radon risk in the regions In the exercise of its mission to monitor radon concentrations in buildings open to the public, ASN conducted three inspections of the largest managers of teaching institutions in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. These inspections (of the departmental councils of the Nièvre and Saône-et-Loire départements , which manage 30 and 51 junior secondary schools respectively, and the town of Autun, which manages 7 primary schools) confirmed that the demands made by ASN in 2016 had been taken into account and that all the schools had undergone radon screening. Remediation measures are in progress in 10% of the schools of the region, where the radon concentration was higher than the threshold for regulatory action. In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the ASN Lyon division exercised its oversight in the buildings open to the public in 8 départements with priority status for management of the radon risk: the result of the remote survey initiated in 2014 with the 80 largest municipalities of the region responsible for public schools led ASN to chase up more than 10 municipalities in which the radon management situation was unsatisfactory (no screening, failure to take remedial action in excess radon situations, no new measurements taken to check the effectiveness of remedial work, etc.). In the PACA and Occitanie regions, two inspections were conducted in the departmental councils of the Hautes-Alpes and Lozère départements . ASN also focused its actions on informing the stakeholders and the public. Along with the public administrations (Dreal, ARS, Cerema) and partner organisations (trade associations, local authorities, etc.), it draws the attention of elected officials, building trade professionals, employers, managers of buildings open to the public, and the public at large, to the radon risk and the changes in regulations. This is the case in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, where ASN, since 2011, has participated in the actions of the partners of the “pluralistic radon initiative”, which aims at raising the awareness of regional authorities, building trade professionals and private individuals to the risks induced by exposure to radon. Since 2016, the Dijon division of ASN has also been participating in the Franco-Swiss “Jurad-Bat” project, which aims at establishing, in 2019, a cross-border computer platform to foster integration of the radon issue in the training of building trade professionals. In Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in 2018, ASN, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) and Regional Directorate for the Environment, Development and Housing (Dreal) jointly set up a Regional Guidance Committee for Radon Risk Management (Comor) to analyse the experience feedback from the various initiatives and use it to draw up a coordinated action plan for the entire region. In the Grand Est region, in collaboration with the ARS and ATMO – an accredited air quality monitoring association, ASN took part in an information seminar for local elected officials which was held on 16 May 2018 in Holtzwihr (Haut-Rhin). Some 30 mayors attended the seminar. This gave ASN the opportunity to present the new obligations incumbent on local authorities following the transposition of Directive 2013/59 Euratom into French law. An information session was also held at the spas of Niederbronn-les Bains and Morsbronn-les-Bains (Bas-Rhin département ) on 27 July 2018 with the ARS, as the management of the two spas had decided to assess the radon risk at the work stations situated in the basement. Lastly, in the Pays de la Loire region, in which between 65% and 80% of the municipalities in the départements of Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne and Vendée are situated in areas with high radon potential, the ASN Nantes division participated in the first “Radon morning” held on 6 November 2018, which was attended by more than 80 representatives of local authorities, teaching institutions, health and social facilities, associations and design offices. The aim of this event, which formed part of the 3rd Regional Plan for Health and the Environment (PRSE3), was to present the new regulatory obligations with regard to the radon risk in buildings open to the public. The new obligations with regard to labour law were also presented. Lastly, this event provided the opportunity to set out the new obligations in the areas of real estate (information to buyers and tenants) and to encourage the local authorities to conduct radon measurement campaigns in private homes in order to raise awareness in the general public. 102  ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2018 01 – NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES: IONISING RADIATION AND HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS