ASN Report 2018

ASN performs about ten inspections at facilities of this type each year. Matters relating to radiation protection and safe and correct operation of cyclotrons and production platforms receive particular attention during the inspections. The scope of the inspections performed includes – apart from the aspects relating to radiation protection – management of internal events, monitoring and maintenance of the production equipment, inspection of the surveillance and control systems and the gaseous discharge results. The radiation protection organisation of these facilities is satisfactory and staff are familiar with the regulations. National action plans have been put in place by the licensees and are monitored by ASN in order to ensure continuous improvement of radiation protection and safety in these facilities. No significant radiation protection events were reported to ASN in 2018. There are disparities in the technical and organisational means implemented by the licensees, depending on the age of the facilities and the type of activities performed (research or industrial production). Experience feedback in this area has led ASN, assisted by IRSN, to draw up a draft regulatory text on the technical design and operating rules applicable to companies producing radionuclides using a cyclotron. This draft text was made available for consultation by the stakeholders in 2016. A revised version was produced in 2018, taking account of the observations received and including additional chapters on the control and monitoring of gaseous effluent discharges. Simplified diagram of the operation of a cyclotron Semi-cylindrical D-shaped hollow electrodes Magnetic field generated by two electromagnets Progressively accelerated particles Electric field AC voltage generator Beam extraction channel Isotopes transferred and then used in shielded cells Target in which the isotopes are generated Source of electrically charged particles Electromagnet Semi-cylindrical hollow electrode A cyclotron in Guadeloupe This is the first cyclotron equipped with a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner in the Caribbean. On 30 August 2017, after 11 months of examinations, ASN issued the Molecular Imaging Centre of the Guadeloupe (CIMGUA) a license to possess and use a cyclotron of 12 MeV (final energy of the accelerated particles). A PET scan camera also installed in the CIMGUA allows optimised performance of medical examinations, as the radiopharmaceuticals are produced and available on site ( in situ technology). ASN has provided regulatory advice to the CIMGUA during the licensing procedures and has followed project progress from the file examination phase through to finalisation of construction of the facility. Regular situation reviews were held between ASN, IRSN and the CIMGUA, particularly to validate the technical solutions proposed by the licensee. This is effectively the first time a cyclotron of this type, whose key characteristic is its compactness, is used on French territory. The CIMGUA started to use the cyclotron on the first patients in 19 June 2018, after an on-site inspection by ASN. The ISOTRACE cyclotron in its bunker 252  ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2018 08 – SOURCES OF IONISING RADIATION AND THEIR INDUSTRIAL, VETERINARY AND RESEARCH APPLICATIONS