4.2.3 Content of monitoring All the nuclear sites in France that produce discharges are subject to systematic environmental monitoring. This monitoring is proportionate to the environmental risks or detrimental effects of the facility, as presented in the authorisation file, particularly the impact assessment. The regulation monitoring of the environment of BNIs is tailored to each type of facility, depending on whether it is a nuclear power reactor, a plant, a research facility, a waste disposal centre, and so on. The minimum contents of this monitoring are defined by the amended Order of 7 February 2012 setting the general rules for BNIs and by the above-mentioned modified resolution of 16 July 2013. This resolution obliges BNI licensees to have approved laboratories take the environmental radioactivity measurements required by the regulations. Depending on specific local features, monitoring may vary from one site to another. Table 7 gives examples of the monitoring performed by the licensee of an NPP and of a research centre (or plant). When several facilities (whether or not BNIs) are present on the same site, joint monitoring of all these installations is possible, as has been the case, for example, on the Cadarache and Tricastin sites since 2006. These monitoring principles are supplemented in the individual requirements applicable to the facilities by monitoring measures specific to the risks inherent in the industrial processes they use. Each year, in addition to sending ASN the monitoring results required by the regulations, the licensees transmit nearly 120,000 measurements to the RNM. 4.2.4 Environmental monitoring nationwide by IRSN IRSN’s nationwide environmental monitoring is carried out by means of measurement and sampling networks dedicated to: ∙ air monitoring (aerosols, rainwater, ambient gamma activity); ∙ monitoring of surface water (watercourses) and groundwater (aquifers); ∙ monitoring of the human food chain (milk, cereals, fish, etc.); ∙ terrestrial continental monitoring (reference stations located far from all industrial facilities). This monitoring is based on: ∙ continuous on-site monitoring using independent systems (remote-monitoring networks) providing real-time transmission of results. This includes: ‒ the Téléray network (ambient gamma radioactivity in the air) which uses a system of continuous measurement monitors around the whole country. The density of this network is being increased around nuclear sites within a radius of 10 to 30 kilometres around BNIs; ‒ the Hydrotéléray network (monitoring of the main watercourses downstream of all nuclear facilities and before they cross national boundaries); ∙ continuous sampling networks with laboratory measurement, for example the atmospheric aerosols radioactivity monitoring network; ∙ laboratory processing and measurement of samples taken from the various compartments of the environment, whether or not close to facilities liable to discharge radionuclides. Every year, IRSN takes more than 25,000 samples in all compartments of the environment (excluding the remote-measurement networks). The radioactivity levels measured in France are stable and situated at very low levels, generally at the detection sensitivity threshold of the measuring instruments. The artificial radioactivity detected in the environment results essentially from fallout from the atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons carried out in the 1960s, and from the Chernobyl (Ukraine) accident. Traces of artificial radioactivity associated with discharges can sometimes be detected near installations. To this can be added very local contaminations resulting from incidents or past industrial activities, and which do not represent a health risk. On the basis of the nationwide radioactivity monitoring results published in the RNM and in accordance with the provisions of ASN resolution 2008-DC-0099 of 29 April 2008, as amended, IRSN regularly publishes a detailed Summary of the Radioactive State of the French Environment. The third edition of this summary was published at the end of 2018 and covered the period 2015‑2017. The fourth edition of this summary, covering the period 20182020, was published in December 2021. The innovations of this last summary include the addition of a chapter devoted to installations classified for protection of the environment. In addition to this summary, IRSN also produces regional radiological findings to provide more precise information about a given area. WITH REGARD TO MEASUREMENTS ཛྷ The Decision Threshold (SD) is the value above which it is possible with a high degree of confidence to conclude that a radionuclide is present in the sample. ཛྷ The Detection Limit (LD) is the value as of which the measurement technique is able to quantify a radionuclide with a reasonable degree of uncertainty (the uncertainty is about 50% at the LD). More simply, LD ≈ 2 x SD. For the measurement results on chemical substances, the Quantification Limit is equivalent to the Detection Limit used to measure radioactivity. Reference spectra For the NPPs, the reference spectra of discharges comprise the following radionuclides: ཛྷ Liquid discharges: tritium, carbon-14, iodine-131, other fission and activation products (manganese-54, cobalt-58, cobalt-60, nickel-63, Ag-110m, tellurium 123m, antimony-124, antimony-125, caesium-134, caesium-137); ཛྷ Gaseous discharges: tritium, carbon-14, iodines (iodine-131, iodine-133), other fission and activation products (cobalt-58, cobalt-60, caesium-134, caesium-137), noble gases: xenon-133 (permanent discharges from ventilation networks, when draining “RS” effluent storage tanks and at decompression of reactor buildings), xenon-135 (permanent discharges from ventilation networks and at decompression of reactor buildings), xenon-131m (when draining “RS” tanks), krypton-85 (when draining “RS” tanks), argon-41 (at decompression of reactor buildings). ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2021 159 03 – REGULATION OF NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES AND EXPOSURE TO IONISING RADIATION 08 07 13 04 10 06 12 14 03 09 05 11 02 01 AP
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