4.3 The other suppliers of sources Evaluation of radiation protection Suppliers of radioactive sources, cyclotrons excluded, propose technical solutions for the industrial, medical and research sectors. Suppliers may be manufacturers of “bare” sources or of devices containing sealed radioactive sources, manufacturers of unsealed sources, or distributors who import sources from other countries. Whatever the case, ASN examines the license application files for the sources these suppliers wish to distribute in France. In 2021, cyclotrons excluded, 25 inspections were carried out (of which 7 were done remotely(3) at manufacturers/suppliers of sealed or unsealed sources, at companies involved in the dismantling and reconditioning of ICSDs, companies recovering lightning conductors and companies manufacturing and installing X-ray generators (although these devices are not yet subject to a distribution license, their utilisation is regulated, including the commissioning and maintenance operations carried out by the companies that sell them). As a complement to what was done until now, 5 of the 25 inspections focused on priority themes other than the supply of sources (protection of sources against malicious acts, maintenance of electrical devices emitting ionising radiation, radiological cleanliness of the sites ceasing their activity, removal of lightning conductors and dismantling of ICSDs). Lastly, two of these inspections concerned foreign companies distributing ionising radiation sources in France. These inspections have covered about a quarter of the suppliers with safety-significant business, checking specific inspection indicators more particularly linked to the suppliers’ respon– sibilities in the tracking and recovery of disused sealed radioactive sources from the users, in order to dispose of them appropriately, 3. The remote inspections were conducted on suppliers who did not hold physical stocks of sources. taking into account the radiation risks they present for people and the environment. ASN considers the radiation protection situation associated with the radionuclide distribution activity to be satisfactory on the whole. The large majority of licensees meet the main requirements and assume their responsibilities adequately (verifications prior to supply, technical verifications of the supplied sources, setting up the source recovery streams, transmission of information to IRSN). These inspections also served to inform source suppliers of new changes in the regulations, particularly those concerning the protection of the radioactive sources they hold, either for their own use of for future supply to customers, against malicious acts. However, these inspections and the analyses of significant events reports have also revealed points requiring particular attention, including: ∙ Defining the conditions of source recovery between suppliers and their customers before making the deliveries. This is because the conditions of future recovery of the delivered sources (ten years counting from the date of the first record– ing figuring on the supply form) are often imprecisely communicated to the customer, which reduces the fluidity of the recovery operations. ∙ The systematic verifications prior to delivery. These verifications, for which the supplier must take appropriate organisational measures (by computer blocking or verifications during actual preparation of the order), include verification of the existence of a license (or a notification) authorising holding of the source concerned and verification of the fact that the delivery of a source in itself, considering the other sources already delivered by the supplier, will not result in the customer’s license limits being exceeded. LA RÉUNION MARTINIQUE GUADELOUPE Joint use Research Production for medical applications On standby Planned LOCATION OF CYCLOTRONS IN FRANCE 258 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2021 08 – SOURCES OF IONISING RADIATION AND THEIR INDUSTRIAL, VETERINARY AND RESEARCH APPLICATIONS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NjQ0NzU=