ASN Report 2018

• The Contrôle magazine and the “ Les cahiers de l’ASN ” booklets Considered a reference by informed audiences, Contrôle magazine was published quarterly for more than 20 years until the end of 2016 (more than 200 issues). The last one hundred issues of Contrôle magazine can still be consulted on asn.fr . The Les cahiers de l’ASN booklets provide a wide public with plain-language information on the ongoing issues and decision- making processes (e.g.: “Nuclear power plants beyond 40 years: the stakes of the 4th periodic safety reviews of the 900 MWe nuclear reactors”). • ASN Guides for concrete application of resolutions The ASN Guides give recommendations, present the means ASN considers appropriate for achieving the objectives set by the regulations, and share methods and good practices resulting from lessons learned from significant events. ASN updates existing guides or publishes new ones each year. In 2018, ASN published Guide No. 29 on “Radiation Protection in Radioactive Substance Transport Activities”, and a sheet reiterating the “minimum technical design rules (3) for work premises in which X-ray emitting devices are used”. • A section for the professionals on asn.fr Professionals can find all the regulatory texts and forms concerning their area of activity, along with the sheets and results by sector, etc., in a specific section. The professionals are directed to the teleservices platform for their on-line formalities where necessary. 1.2.2  –  Radiation protection: a portal for notifying significant events The notification of significant events is a key factor in reinforcing the safety and radiation protection culture. Since May 2017, all significant events concerning radiation protection have to be notified via ASN’s on-line services portal: teleservices.asn.fr . The possibility of notifying incidents on line, which has been operational since 2015 for radiotherapy, is now available for all medical applications that use ionising radiation: nuclear medicine, interventional and fluoroscopy- guided practices, computed tomography and conventional and dental radiology. New forms were created in 2018 to facilitate notification of the possession and utilisation of X-ray generators in the medical and industrial sectors. Significant transport events (excluding on basic nuclear installation sites) can now also be reported on line. 1.2.3  –  A bulletin and regular meetings to share good practices ASN publishes the twice-yearly bulletin Patient safety – Paving the way for progress , co-signed by the SFRO (French Society for Radiation Oncology), the SFPM (French Society for Medical Physics), the AFPPE (the French Association of Radiographers), and the AFQSR (French Association for Quality and Safety in Radiotherapy). Sent to 180 radiotherapy centres in France, the bulletin highlights the progress and experience-sharing approach initiated by the radiotherapy centres to enhance treatment safety. An issue No. 12 on the analysis of the risks of vertebra identification errors in imaging was published in 2018. ASN participates very regularly in the congresses of the French Association of Radiographers (AFPPE), the French Radiology Days (JFR) and the days of the French Society for Radiation Protection (SFRP) devoted to Radiation Protection Expert- Officers (“PCR” days). In 2018, ASN attended the JFR and the 3. Technical rules relating to ASN decision 2017-DC-0591 of 13 June 2017. PCR days to present the main regulatory provisions of radiation protection applicable in medical and dental radiology. ASN was also behind the initiative of national and regional thematic professional seminars (four professional seminars held in Paris, Marseille and Lyon, were organised by the ASN divisions in 2018). These events provide the opportunity to interchange with specialised audiences, to enhance knowledge of the regulations (regulatory sheets and guide to regulatory provisions), to present the results of inspections and to share the analysis of significant radiation protection events. 1.3  ̶  ASN and the media ASN maintains regular relations with the regional, national and foreign media throughout the year. Each year, the ASN spokespersons respond to more than 600 press requests, including from foreign media, and give some twenty local and national press conferences. The majority of the press requests concern local questions specific to a facility. Some concern more general issues, such as radioactive waste management, decommissioning, the conditions of continued reactor operation, and safety improvements. ASN also maintains relations with the medical press on the subjects of patient and medical personnel radiation protection. At the time of the publication of its annual Report on the situation of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France , ASN meets regional press journalists. In 2018, 15 regional conferences were held between the end of May and mid-July. ASN was thus able to reply directly to about one hundred media representatives, resulting in wide dissemination of the information (more than 150 articles). At these meetings, the ASN regional divisions report on ASN’s assessment of the safety of the facilities in the regions. The current radiation protection issues of the regions are addressed, whether they concern the medical and industrial sectors, sites contaminated by radioactive substances, population exposure to radon, former mining sites, etc. Interview with P. F. Chevet, ASN Chairman, at the presentation of the ASN Annual Report – April 2018 174  ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2018 05 – INFORMING THE PUBLIC AND OTHER AUDIENCES