Once the license, registration or notification acknowledgement is obtained, the holder can procure sources. To do this, it collects supply request forms from IRSN, enabling IRSN to verify –as part of its duty to keep the national inventory of ionising radiation sources up to date– that the orders are in conformity with the license or notification acknowledgement issued to the user and the license of its supplier. If the order is correct, the transfer is then recorded by IRSN, which notifies the interested parties that delivery can take place. In the event of difficulty, the transfer is not validated and IRSN refers the case to ASN (see box page 246). Cases of ionising radiation generators ASN has been responsible for the oversight of these devices since 2002, devices for which numerous administrative compliance actions are still required. In 2021, it granted 43 new licenses, 141 license renewals or updates and issued, for the first time, 41 registration decisions for the use of devices emitting X-rays. ASN also delivered 718 notification acknowledgements for electrical generators of ionising radiation. As with radioactive sources, the large reduction in the number of licenses issued and, conversely, the significant increase in notification acknowl– edgements and issuing of the first registration decisions, are the direct consequence of the entry into effect of the abovementioned ASN resolutions 2018-DC-0649 of 18 October 2018 and 2021DC-0703 of 4 February 2021. In all, 1,848 licenses, 41 registrations and 7,698 notification acknowledgements have been issued since 2002 for electrical devices emitting ionising radiation. Graph 7 illustrates the trend for the last few years. 3 // Assessment of the radiation protection situation in applications involving radiation risks in the industrial, research and veterinary sectors 3.1 Industrial radiography 3.1.1 The devices used Gamma radiography Gamma radiography is a non-destructive inspection method used for detecting homogeneity defects in materials such as weld beads. It involves obtaining a radiographic image on silver-based or digital media using the gamma rays emitted by a radioactive source and passing through the object to inspect. It is widely used in fabrication and maintenance operations in diverse industrial sectors such as boilermaking, petrochemicals, nuclear power plants, public works, aeronautics and armament. Gamma radiography devices contain high-activity sealed sources, mainly iridium-192, cobalt-60 or selenium-75, whose activity can reach about twenty terabecquerels. A gamma radiography device is usually a mobile device which can be moved from one worksite to another. It consists primarily of: ∙ a source projector which acts as a storage container and ensures radiological protection when the source is not in use; ∙ a guide tube which guides the movement of the source up to the object to be examined; ∙ and a remote control cable allowing remote manipulation by the operator. When the source is ejected out of the device, the dose rates can reach several grays per hour at one metre from the device, depending on the radionuclide and its activity level. As a result of the activity of the sources and the movement of the sources outside the storage container when the device is being used, gamma radiography can entail significant risks for the operators in the event of incorrect use, failure to comply with radiation protection rules, or operating incidents. Furthermore, these gamma radiography activities are often carried out on work sites under difficult conditions (working at night, or in 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 2021, ASN conducted 151 inspections in this area, a number that is stable with respect to the two preceding years. Among these inspections, 74 were unannounced inspections on worksites which also include night work. As in 2020, the conduct of some inspections was adapted so that they could partially be carried out remotely. The on-line 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; ∙ the identification of the device used on the worksite (gamma radiography or X-ray device). 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 to the appointing of a Radiation Protection Advisor –RPA (a single noncompliance observed) and worker dose monitoring (less than 10% noncompliance observed). Furthermore, the inspectors noted that the frequency of maintenance of gamma radiography devices on the whole complies with regulations (no noncompliance found for projectors, 10% noncompliance found for accessories). Similarly, all the operators inspected by ASN held, when it was necessary, the Certificate of Competence in the Use of Industrial Radiology Devices (CAMARI) required by Article R. 4451-61 of the Labour Code. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2021 247 08 – SOURCES OF IONISING RADIATION AND THEIR INDUSTRIAL, VETERINARY AND RESEARCH APPLICATIONS 08 07 13 04 10 06 12 14 03 09 05 11 02 AP 01
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