ASN Report 2018

2.3.3  –  The French National Network for environmental radioactivity Monitoring (RNM) ∙ ∙ ASN resolution 2018-DC-0648 of 16 October 2018 modifying ASN resolution 2008-DC-0099 of 29 April 2008 relative to the organisation of the National Network for environmental radioactivity Monitoring and setting out approval procedures for laboratories ASN resolution 2008-DC-0099 of 29 April 2008, modified for the first time in 2015, sets out the organisation of the National Network for environmental radioactivity Monitoring (RNM) and the procedures for approval of laboratories by ASN. This resolution was once again modified by ASN resolution 2018-DC-0648 of 16 October 2018, notably in order to introduce a new type of approval corresponding to the measurement of radon 222 in water. This revision allows alignment between the procedures for the approvals issued by ASN for the RNM and by the Directorate General for Health (DGS) for the health checks on waters intended for human consumption, respectively, which are based on common technical requirements: to obtain approval from the DGS, these laboratories must now first have obtained approval from ASN (see point 2.2.1 EDCH). Pursuant to resolution 2008-DC-0099, ASN proceeded as follows: ∙ ∙ in resolution CODEP‑DEU-2018‑046580 of 26 September 2018, it appointed qualified persons for a period of five years, along with representatives of the approved laboratories, to sit on the environmental radioactivity monitoring laboratories approval Committee; ∙ ∙ in resolution CODEP‑DEU-2018‑046583 of 26 September 2018, it renewed the RNM steering Committee which sets the guidelines for the RNM. This Committee comprises representatives of all the network’s stakeholders: ministerial departments, regional health agencies, representatives of nuclear licensee or association laboratories, members of the CLI, of IRSN, of ASN, etc. 2.4  –  ASN guides ∙ ∙ ASN Guide No. 29 : Radiation protection in radioactive substances transport activities The inspections carried out by ASN reveal that the risk of exposure to ionisation radiation is not adequately taken into account in the preventive measures relating to the transportation of radioactive substances. Yet some transport activities have significant radiation protection implications, particularly for the workers, owing to their close proximity to the packages. The annual dose for a driver transporting radiopharmaceuticals can thus reach 14 millisieverts per year (mSv/year), the maximum regulatory value being set at 20 mSv/year. ASN Guide No. 29 aims to help carriers meet their regulatory obligations relative to the radiation protection of workers and the general public. It highlights the relationships between the applicable texts, such as the Order of 29 May 2009 relative to the carriage of dangerous goods by land, and the Labour and Public Health Codes. The Guide includes the ASN recommendations regarding the minimum content of the radiological protection programme required by the regulations, along with concrete examples. 2.5  –  The professional guides approved by ASN On the basis of Article R. 1333‑69 of the Public Health Code, ASN resolution 2017-DC-0585 of 14 March 2017, on the continuing training of professionals in the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes, introduced an approval procedure for continuing professional training guides on patient radiation protection intended for health professionals. In 2018, nine guides were approved: ∙ ∙ the continuing training guide for the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes intended for radiographers working in medical imaging (conventional radiology, computed tomography); ∙ ∙ the continuing training guide for the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes intended for paramedical professionals (radiographers, technicians and nurses) working in nuclear medicine; ∙ ∙ the continuing training guide for the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes intended for health professionals in the external radiotherapy and brachytherapy sectors, comprising the guide produced with the French Society of Oncological Radiotherapy (SFRO), the French Society of Medical Physics (SFPM) and the French Association of Paramedical Radiography Personnel (AFPPE); ∙ ∙ the continuing training guide for the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes intended for physicians qualified for radio-diagnosis and medical imaging; ∙ ∙ the continuing training guide for the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes intended for medical physicists working in medical imaging (conventional radiology, computed tomography, fluoroscopy- guided interventional practices); ∙ ∙ the continuing training guide for the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes intended for dentists; ∙ ∙ the continuing training guide for the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes intended for paramedical professionals working in nuclear medicine; ∙ ∙ the continuing training guide for the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes intended for preparation staff in hospital pharmacies; ∙ ∙ the continuing training guide for the radiation protection of persons exposed to ionising radiation for medical purposes intended for radio-pharmacists. Regulatory news ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2018  25