ASN Report 2020

Since 2011, social media have been integrated in the communic­ ation organisation set up for the emergency exercises and participate in the “media pressure simulations”. The issue at stake is to take into account factors such as the immediacy of the reactions, the urgency of the need for information and the speed of dissemination of incorrect or incomplete information, etc. In such emergency situations, whether simulated or real, ASN takes care to ensure the consistency, speed and clarity of the information delivered to the audiences, including when several players are involved. ASN news is followed and passed on by more than 13,000 sub­ scribers on Twitter, nearly 25,000 on LinkedIn and nearly 4,000 on Facebook. 1.1.3 The ASN/IRSN exhibition As part of their duty to inform the public, ASN and the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) have created educational content to develop knowledge of nuclear activities and radiation protection among high school pupils, students, employees, hospital personnel, patients, etc. and more generally the public at large. This content exists in several forms at present: an exhibition of some 80 display boards plus educational leaflets. These vectors are designed to provide information on radioactivity – whether natural or artificial – its uses, its implications and its effects on humans and the environment. Requests for information concerning this popularised content, the booklets and the exhibition are to be made to info@asn.fr . At the end of 2020, a website bringing together all the resources of the ASN-IRSN exhibition was put on line. 1.1.4 The ASN Information Centre Any citizen can address requests for information to ASN, either online (at the address info@asn.fr ), by letter or by telephone. In 2020, the Centre responded to more than 600 requests in diverse areas (technical questions, requests for transmission of administrative documents, information relative to the environment, publications, documentary searches, etc.). Information and iodine tablet distribution campaigns Every 7 years or so, an information and stable iodine tablet distribution campaign targets the populations living in the vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) over the entire zone covered by the Off-Site Emergency Plans (PPI*) (see Chapter 4 point 1.1.1 b). Over and beyond the distribution of stable iodine tablets, the aim is to develop citizens’ awareness of the nuclear risk and knowledge of the means to protect themselves against it. An information and iodine tablet distribution campaign began in 2019 in a radius of 10 to 20 kilometres (km) around the NPPs further to the extension of the PPIs. It is complementary to the 2016‑2017 campaign which concerned residents in the 0‑10 km zone. Led by the Ministry of the Interior, this campaign involves the Ministries of Health and Solidarities and of National Education, ASN, the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), pharmacists, general practitioners, mayors, Local Information Committees (CLIs) and EDF. In January 2021, the collection rate of iodine tablets from pharmacies had reached 85% for schools and about 25% for private individuals. These results are lower than for the preceding campaign (2016) even though the population was informed in the same manner (personally addressed postal mail, press relations, social networks, toll-free number, website); this can be explained by the fact that this type of operation is completely new in these regions. In effect, stable iodine tablets have been distributed in the 0-10 km zone since 1997, but only since September 2019 in the 10-20 km zone. Tablets shall be sent by post to the people who have not collected them from a pharmacy at the beginning of 2021, as was done in the previous campaigns in the 0-10 km zone. ASN considers that development of the radiation protection culture of the population living in the 10-20 km zone is a major area for progress for all the actors, and that additional measures must be taken without waiting for the next distribution campaign planned for 2022. * PPI: French acronym meaning “Off-site Emergency Plan: a local plan put in place by the Prefect to manage the consequences on the neighbouring population of an accident occurring on a site presenting risks. ASN-IRSN exhibition accessible at the address: www.irsn.fr/expo-asn-irsn/Documents/index.html ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 187 05 – INFORMING THE PUBLIC AND OTHER AUDIENCES 05