Abstracts ASN Report 2019

ڲ٫ת Radioactive substances traffic The regulations divide the dangerous goods liable to be transported into nine “classes” according to the nature of the corresponding risk (for example: explosive, toxic, flammable). ĿĴņņ ӊׇĶłʼnĸŅņ ŅĴķļłĴĶŇļʼnĸ ņňĵņŇĴŁĶĸņє The transport of radioactive substances stands out owing to its considerable diversity. Packages of radioactive substances can weigh from a few hundred grams up to a hundred tons and the radiological activity of their content can range from a few thousand becquerels to billions of billions of becquerels for the packages of spent nuclear fuel. The safety implications are also extremely varied. The vast majority of packages have limited individual safety implications, but for a small percentage of them, the potential safety consequences are high. ĵłňŇ ӊӊӃёӃӃӃׇĶłŁņļĺŁŀĸŁŇņ łĹ ŅĴķļłĴĶŇļʼnĸ ņňĵņŇĴŁĶĸņ ĴŅĸ ŇŅĴŁņŃłŅŇĸķ ĸĴĶĻ ŌĸĴŅ ļŁ ŅĴŁĶĸє Ļļņ ŅĸŃŅĸņĸŁŇņ ĴĵłňŇ ӌӋӃёӃӃӃׇŃĴĶľĴĺĸņ łĹ ŅĴķļłĴĶŇļʼnĸ ņňĵņŇĴŁĶĸņё łŅ ĽňņŇ Ĵ ĹĸŊ ŃĸŅĶĸŁŇ of the total number of dangerous goods packages transported each ŌĸĴŅ ļŁ ŅĴŁĶĸє Ļĸ ʼnĴņŇ ŀĴĽłŅļŇŌ łĹ ņĻļŃŀĸŁŇņ ĴŅĸ ŀĴķĸ ĵŌ ŅłĴķё ĵňŇ ņłŀĸ ĴĿņł ŇĴľĸ ŃĿĴĶĸ ĵŌ ŅĴļĿё ĵŌ ņĸĴ ĴŁķ ĵŌ ĴļŅ Ҏņĸĸ ĴĵĿĸׇӄҏє These shipments concern three activity sectors: non-nuclear industry, medical sector and nuclear industry (see Graph 1). Most of the packages transported are intended for the non- nuclear industry, or for non-nuclear research: this mainly involves devices containing radioactive sources which are not used in a single location and which therefore need to be transported very ĹŅĸńňĸŁŇĿŌє łŅ ĸŋĴŀŃĿĸё ŇĻĸņĸ ĶłňĿķ ĵĸ ķĸʼnļĶĸņ ĹłŅ ķĸŇĸĶŇļŁĺ lead in paint, used for real estate sale diagnostics, or gamma radiography devices used to detect defects in materials. Travel to and from the various worksites explains the very large number of shipments for the non-nuclear industry. The safety issues vary considerably: the radioactive source contained in lead detectors has very low radiological activity, while that contained in gamma radiography devices has a far higher activity. About one third of the packages transported are used in the medical sector: this involves providing health care centres with radioactive sources, for example sealed sources used in radiotherapy, or radiopharmaceutical products, and removing the corresponding radioactive waste. The activity of radiopharmaceutical products decays rapidly (for example, ŇĻĸ ŅĴķļłĴĶŇļʼnĸ ĻĴĿĹіĿļĹĸ łĹ ĹĿňłŅļŁĸіӄӋׇļņ ĶĿłņĸ Ňł ŇŊł ĻłňŅņҏє Consequently, these products have to be regularly transported to the nuclear medicine units, creating a large number of shipments, which have to be carried out correctly to ensure the continuity of the health care given. Most of these products have low activity levels, although a small proportion of them, such as the sources used in radiotherapy or the irradiated sources used to produce technetium (used in medical imaging) have significant safety implications. ļŁĴĿĿŌё ӄӅՌ łĹ ŇĻĸ ŃĴĶľĴĺĸņ ņĻļŃŃĸķ ļŁ ŅĴŁĶĸ ĴŅĸ ĹłŅ ŇĻĸ ŁňĶĿĸĴŅ ļŁķňņŇŅŌє Ļļņ ŅĸŃŅĸņĸŁŇņ ĴĵłňŇ ӄӌёӃӃӃׇņĻļŃŀĸŁŇņ ĴŁŁňĴĿĿŌё ļŁʼnłĿʼnļŁĺ ӄӄӇёӃӃӃׇŃĴĶľĴĺĸņє Ļĸņĸ ņĻļŃŀĸŁŇņ ĴŅĸ ĴŁ ļŁŇĸĺŅĴĿ ŃĴŅŇ of the fuel cycle, owing to the distribution of the various facilities and Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) around the country (see map below). Depending on the step in the cycle, the physicochemical form and radiological activity of the substances varies widely. The transport operations with very high safety implications are ņĻļŃŀĸŁŇņ łĹ ňŅĴŁļňŀ ĻĸŋĴĹĿňłŅļķĸ Ҏ 6 ) whether or not enriched (dangerous more specifically owing to the toxic and corrosive ŃŅłŃĸŅŇļĸņ łĹ ŇĻĸ ĻŌķŅłĺĸŁ ĹĿňłŅļķĸ ĹłŅŀĸķ ĵŌ 6 ׇļŁ ĶłŁŇĴĶŇ ŊļŇĻ CHAPTER 09 The transport of radioactive substances is a specific sector of dangerous goods transport characterised by the risks associated with radioactivity. The radioactive substance transports being regulated cover a wide range of activities in the industrial, medical and research sectors. This is based on stringent international regulations. Transport of radioactive substances GRAPH 1 Proportion of packages transported per field of activity ǣȇ ۏ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Non-nuclear industry and research Medical Nuclear industry 258 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2019