Abstracts ASN Report 2019

• «ǣɀǸ ȵȸƺɮƺȇɎǣȒȇ ƏȇƳ ȇɖƬǼƺƏȸ ɀƏǔƺɎɵ The fundamental internationally adopted principle underpinning the specific organisational system and regulations applicable to nuclear safety is that of the responsibility of the licensee ҎņĸĸׇĶĻĴŃŇĸŅ Ӆҏє Ļĸ ŃňĵĿļĶ ĴňŇĻłŅļŇļĸņ ĸŁņňŅĸ ŇĻĴŇ ŇĻļņ responsibility is fully assumed, in compliance with the regulatory requirements. As regards the prevention of risks for workers, BNI licensees are required to implement all necessary means to ŃŅłŇĸĶŇ ŊłŅľĸŅņ ĴĺĴļŁņŇ ŇĻĸ ĻĴōĴŅķņ łĹ ļłŁļņļŁĺ ŅĴķļĴŇļłŁє ĻĸŌ must more particularly ensure compliance with the general rules applicable to all workers exposed to ionising radiation (work organisation, risk prevention, medical monitoring of workers, including those from outside contractors, etc.). As regards protection of the population and the environment, the BNI licensee must also take all necessary steps to achieve and maintain an optimum level of protection. More particularly, discharges of liquid and gaseous effluents, whether radioactive or not, are strictly limited (see chapter 3). א ِ א ِ א ÁȸƏȇɀȵȒȸɎ Ȓǔ ȸƏƳǣȒƏƬɎǣɮƺ ɀɖƫɀɎƏȇƬƺɀ When transporting radioactive substances, the main risks are those of internal or external exposure, of criticality, and risks of a chemical nature. Safe transport of radioactive substances relies on an approach called defence in depth: Ҋ The robustness of the packaging is the first line of defence. The packaging plays a vital role and must withstand the foreseeable transport conditions. Ҋ The reliability of the transport operations constitutes the second line of defence. Ҋ ļŁĴĿĿŌё ŇĻĸ ŇĻļŅķ ĿļŁĸ łĹ ķĸĹĸŁĶĸ ļņ ŇĻĸ ŀĸĴŁņ łĹ ŅĸņŃłŁņĸ implemented in the event of an incident or accident. א ِ א ِ ב ³ȅƏǼǼ ٮ ɀƬƏǼƺ ȇɖƬǼƺƏȸ ƏƬɎǣɮǣɎǣƺɀ Ionising radiation, whether emitted by radionuclides or generated by electrical equipment, is used in many areas, including medicine (radiology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and fluoroscopy-guided interventional practices), biology, research, industry, but also in veterinary applications and the conservation of foodstuffs. The employer is required to take all necessary measures to protect ŊłŅľĸŅņ ĴĺĴļŁņŇ ŇĻĸ ĻĴōĴŅķņ łĹ ļłŁļņļŁĺ ŅĴķļĴŇļłŁє Ļĸ ĹĴĶļĿļŇŌ licensee must also implement the provisions of the Public Health Code for the management of the ionising radiation sources in its possession (radioactive sources in particular) and, where applicable, manage the waste produced and limit discharges of liquid and gaseous effluents. In the case of use for medical purposes, patient protection issues are also taken into account. א ِ א ِ « ג ƏƳǣȒƏƬɎǣɮƺ ɯƏɀɎƺ ȅƏȇƏǕƺȅƺȇɎ Like all industrial activities, nuclear activities can generate waste, some of which are radioactive. The three fundamental principles on which strict radioactive waste management is based are the accountability of the waste producer, the traceability of the waste and public information. The technical management provisions to be implemented must ĵĸ ŇĴļĿłŅĸķ Ňł ŇĻĸ ĻĴōĴŅķ ŃŅĸņĸŁŇĸķ ĵŌ ŇĻĸ ŅĴķļłĴĶŇļʼnĸ ŊĴņŇĸє Ļļņ ĻĴōĴŅķ ĶĴŁ ĵĸ Ĵņņĸņņĸķ ŃŅļŀĴŅļĿŌ ŇĻŅłňĺĻ ŇŊł ŃĴŅĴŀĸŇĸŅņѓ the activity level, which contributes to the toxicity of the waste, and the half-life, the time after which the activity level is halved. ļŁĴĿĿŌё ŀĴŁĴĺĸŀĸŁŇ łĹ ŅĴķļłĴĶŇļʼnĸ ŊĴņŇĸ ŀňņŇ ĵĸ ķĸŇĸŅŀļŁĸķ prior to any creation of new activities or modification of existing activities in order to: Ҋ ensure the availability of processing channels for the various categories of waste likely to be produced, from the front-end phase (production of waste and packaging) to the back-end phase (storage, transport and disposal); Ҋ optimise the waste disposal routes. א ِ א ِ ד xƏȇƏǕƺȅƺȇɎ Ȓǔ ƬȒȇɎƏȅǣȇƏɎƺƳ ɀǣɎƺɀ Management of sites contaminated by residual radioactivity resulting either from a past nuclear activity or an activity which generated deposits of natural radionuclides warrants specific radiation protection actions, in particular if rehabilitation is envisaged. Depending on the current or future uses of the site, decontamin- ation objectives must be set. The removal of the waste produced during post-operation clean-out of the contaminated premises and remediation of soil must be managed from the site through to storage or disposal. The management of contaminated objects also follows these same principles. א ِ א ِ ה ƬɎǣɮǣɎǣƺɀ ɖɀǣȇǕ ȸƏƳǣȒƏƬɎǣɮƺ ɀɖƫɀɎƏȇƬƺɀ Ȓǔ ȇƏɎɖȸƏǼ ȒȸǣǕǣȇ Exposure to ionising radiation of natural origin, when increased due to human activities, justifies monitoring measures if it is ĿļľĸĿŌ Ňł ĶŅĸĴŇĸ Ĵ ĻĴōĴŅķ ĹłŅ ŇĻĸ ĸŋŃłņĸķ ŊłŅľĸŅņ ĴŁķё ŊĻĸŅĸ applicable, the neighbouring population. Thus, certain activities included in the definition of “nuclear activities” can use materials containing naturally occurring radio- active materials at concentration levels that could significantly increase the exposure of workers to ionising radiation and, to a lesser extent, the exposure of populations living near the places in which these activities are carried out. The natural families of uranium and thorium are the main radio- nuclides found in these activities: Ҋ the production of oil and gas, geothermal energy, titanium ķļłŋļķĸё ŃĻłņŃĻĴŇĸ ĹĸŅŇļĿļōĸŅņ ĴŁķ ĶĸŀĸŁŇђ Ҋ the extraction of rare earths and granites; Ҋ the casting of tin, lead and copper. The radiation protection measures to take in this area target not only the workers (risk of external irradiation and internal contamination, radon) but also the general public, for example in the case of effluent discharges into the environment or the production of residues that could be reused, in construction ŀĴŇĸŅļĴĿņ ĹłŅ ĸŋĴŀŃĿĸє ņ łĹ ňŁĸ ӅӃӄӋё ŇĻĸņĸ ĴĶŇļʼnļŇļĸņ ĴŅĸ ņňĵĽĸĶŇ to the same rules as the Installations Classified for Protection of the Environment. 104 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2019 ׎׏ ٲ NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES: IONISING RADIATION AND HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS