ASN Guide No. 17 presents the essential topics to be developed in a management plan for incidents and accidents involving the transport of radioactive substances for civil use. The driver may be unable to give the alert, if injured or killed in the accident. In this case, detection of the radioactive nature of the consignment would be the entire responsibility of the first responder emergency services. The orange-coloured plates and the trefoil symbols on the vehicles thus indicate the presence of dangerous goods: the emergency services are then instructed to automatically evacuate an area around the vehicle, usually with a radius of 100 metres, and to notify the radioactive nature of the load to the office of the Prefect, which will then alert ASN. Management of the accident is coordinated by the Prefect, who oversees the response operations. Until such time as the national experts are in a position to provide him or her with advice, the Prefect relies on the emergency plan adopted to deal with these situations. Once its national emergency centre has been activated, ASN is able to offer the Prefect assistance by providing technical advice on the more specific measures to be taken. The Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) assists ASN in this role, by assessing the condition of the damaged package and anticipating how the situation could develop. Furthermore, the ASN regional division dispatches a staff member to the Prefect to facilitate liaison with the national Emergency Centre. At the same time, human and material resources would be sent out to the scene of the accident as rapidly as possible (radioactivity measuring instruments, medical means, package recovery means, etc.). The fire service teams specialising in the radioactive risk (the Mobile Radiological Intervention Units – CMIR) would be called on, along with IRSN’s mobile units, or even those of certain nuclear licensees (such as the Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission – CEA, or EDF), which could be requisitioned by the Prefect if needed, even if the shipment in question does not concern these licensees. As with other types of emergency, communication is an important factor in the event of a transport accident so that the population can be informed of the situation and be given instructions on what to do. In order to prepare the public authorities for the eventuality of an accident involving a shipment of radioactive substances, exercises are held to test the entire response organisation that would be put into place. ASN will continue in 2023 to support adequate preparedness by the public authorities for emergency situations involving a transport operation, in particular by promoting the performance of local emergency exercises and issuing recommendations on the steps to be taken in the event of an accident. Finally, ASN intends to update the guide on the performance of risk assessments required for transport installations or infrastructures (marshalling yards, ports, etc.) which could accommodate dangerous goods. The purpose of this guide is to ensure that the risks linked to radioactive substances are adequately assessed, to enable the licensees to define any relevant measures needed to reduce them, under the supervision of the Prefect. ASN recommendations in the event of a transport accident The response by the public authorities in the event of a transport accident comprises three phases: ∙ The emergency services reach the site and initiate “reflex” measures to limit the consequences of the accident and protect the population. The radioactive nature of the substances involved is discovered during this phase. ∙ The entity coordinating the emergency response confirms that the substances are indeed radioactive, alerts ASN and IRSN and gives more specific instructions to the responders, pending activation of the national Emergency Centres. ∙ Once the ASN and IRSN Emergency Centres are operational, a more detailed analysis of the situation is performed in order to advise the person in charge of the emergency operations. During the first two phases, the emergency services must manage the situation without the support of the national experts. In 2017, with the assistance of IRSN and the national Nuclear Risk Management Aid commission, ASN produced a document to help direct the actions of the emergency services. It contains general information about radioactivity, general recommendations for the emergency services so that their response can take account of the specific nature of radioactive substance transports, plus sheets organised per type of substance, providing more detailed information and advice for the emergency response coordinator during phase 2. 2.6 Regulations governing the transport operations within the perimeter of nuclear facilities Dangerous goods transport operations can take place on the private roads of nuclear sites, in what are referred to as “on-site transport operations”. Such operations are not subject to the regulations governing the transport of dangerous goods, which only apply on public roads. However, these operations present the same risks and detrimental effects as dangerous goods transports on the public highway. The safety of these operations must thus be overseen with the same rigour as for any other risk or detrimental effect present with the perimeter of BNIs. This is why the on-site transport of dangerous goods is subject to the requirements of the Order of 7 February 2012 setting out the general rules applicable to BNIs. This Order requires that on-site transport operations be incorporated into the baseline safety requirements for BNIs. The Environment Code, supplemented by ASN resolution 2017DC-0616 of 30 November 2017, defines the on-site transport operations for which authorisation must be requested from ASN. In addition, ASN published Guide No. 34 providing the licensees with recommendations for implementing the regulatory requirements concerning on-site transport operations. Finally, in 2020, ASN extended the on-line notification and on-line transmission functions to deal with requests for noteworthy changes to on-site transports as set out in Articles R. 593-59 and R. 593-56 of the Environment Code. 274 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 • 09 • Transport of radioactive substances 09
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