ASN Report 2020

places that are exposed to the elements, or in cramped spaces). This is therefore an activity with serious radiation protection implications that figures among ASN’s inspection priorities. Industrial X‑ray radiography Industrial X‑ray radiography is used for checking the quality of weld beads or for the fatigue inspection of materials. It is carried out using fixed devices or worksite devices employing directional or panoramic beams which substitute for gamma radiography devices if the conditions of use so permit. These devices can also be used for more specific and therefore rarer purposes, such as radiography for the restoration of musical instruments or paintings, archaeological study of mummies or the analysis of fossils. 3.1.2 Assessment of radiation protection in industrial radiography activities Industrial radiology activities are high-risk activities which have been an inspection priority for ASN for several years now. In 2020, ASN conducted 147 inspections in this area, a number that is stable with respect to 2019 (150). In effect, despite the consequences of the health crisis, ASN maintained its inspection efforts in this area of activity. Even if some inspections procedures were adapted so that all or part of the inspections could be carried out remotely, the ASN inspectors continued to be present at the sites. For example, 59 unannounced worksite inspections, which usually take place at night, were carried out. Furthermore, when inspections were conducted remotely, most were supplemented by targeted on-site inspections, in compliance with Covid‑19 prevention and protection measures. The online notification of worksite schedules for industrial radiography companies put in place by ASN in 2014 facilitates the planning of these inspections. ASN notes that virtually all the licensees concerned generally use this system for the worksite notifications. This being said, the reliability of the information provided is still variable. The points to improve include: ∙ the updating of schedules when they are changed; ∙ the accuracy of the worksite location information (not to be confused with the address of the ordering company); ∙ the completeness of the worksite notification. From its inspection findings, ASN considers that, on the whole, the risks are properly taken into account – albeit with disparities between companies – with the exception of the cordoning off of work zones at temporary worksites. ASN finds that the large majority of companies maintained the necessary rigour to meet the regulatory requirements with respect Selenium-75 gamma radiography The use of selenium-75 in gamma radiography has been authorised in France since 2006. Implemented in the same devices as those functioning with iridium-192, selenium-75 offers significant radiation protection advantages in gamma radiography. This is because the equivalent dose rates are about 55 millisieverts per hour and per terabecquerel (mSv/h/TBq) 1 metre (m) from the source, as opposed to 130 mSv/h/TBq for iridium-192. Yet it can be used in place of iridium-192 in numerous industrial fields, especially the petrochemical or boilermaking industry, and it enables the cordoned-off safety area to be significantly reduced and facilitates intervention in the event of an incident. In France, less than 20% of portable devices are equipped with a selenium-75 source. The deployment of selenium-75 has remained stationary in the last few years. This is because the production plants in Russia have encountered difficulties causing a break in supplies throughout Europe. ASN nevertheless still encourages its use given that the current problems are temporary. Furthermore, the sealed source manufacturers in the United States, who for a long time did not embrace this technology, are now proposing sources of this type. A new manufacturer was thus licensed in 2019. 254 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 08 – SOURCES OF IONISING RADIATION AND THEIR INDUSTRIAL, VETERINARY AND RESEARCH APPLICATIONS Operating schematic of a gamma ray projector