The breakdown of significant events rated on the INES scale is given in Table 6 (see page 155). As the INES scale does not apply to significant events concerning patients, the rating of significant events affecting one or more patients in radiotherapy on the ASN-SFRO scale(2) is specified in chapter 7. Similarly, significant events concerning the environment but involving non-radiological substances are not covered by the INES scale. They are classified as “out of INES scale” events. 3.4 RAISING THE AWARENESS OF PROFESSIONALS AND COOPERATING WITH THE OTHER ADMINISTRATIONS Regulation is supplemented by awareness-raising programmes designed to ensure familiarity with the regulations and their application in practical terms appropriate to the various professions. ASN aims to encourage and support initiatives by the professional organisations that implement this approach by issuing best practices and professional information guides. ASN publishes “Avoiding accidents” sheets with the aim of sharing its OEF analyses. 2. This scale is designed for communication with the public in comprehensible, explicit terms, concerning radiation protection events leading to unexpected or unforeseeable effects affecting patients undergoing a radiotherapy medical procedure. Awareness-raising also involves joint actions with other administrations and organisations which oversee the same facilities, but with different prerogatives. One could here mention the labour inspectorate, the medical devices inspectorate work by the ANSM, the medical activities inspectorate work entrusted to the technical services of the Ministry of Health, or the oversight of small-scale nuclear activities at the Ministry of Defence entrusted to the Armed Forces General Inspectorate. 3.5 INFORMATION ABOUT ASN’S REGULATORY ACTIVITY ASN attaches importance to coordinating Government departments and informs the other administration departments concerned of its inspection programme, the follow-up to its inspections, the penalties imposed on the licensees and any significant events. To ensure that its inspection work is transparent, ASN informs the public by placing the following on its website asn.fr: ∙ its resolutions; ∙ inspection follow-up letters for all the activities it inspects; ∙ the approvals and accreditations it issues or rejects; ∙ incident notices; ∙ reactor outage summaries; ∙ thematic publications. 4 Monitoring the impact of nuclear activities and radioactivity in the environment 4.1 MONITORING DISCHARGES AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACT OF NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES 4.1.1 Monitoring of discharges The BNI Order of 7 February 2012 and amended ASN resolution 2013-DC-0360 of 16 July 2013, set the general requirements applicable to any BNI with regard to their water intake and their discharges of radioactive or chemical substances. In addition to these provisions, in its resolution 2017-DC-0588 of 6 April 2017, ASN defined the conditions for water intake and consumption, effluent discharge and environmental monitoring applicable specifically to PWRs. This resolution was approved by the Minister for Ecological and Solidarity-based Transition in an Order of 14 June 2017. Apart from the above-mentioned general provisions, ASN resolutions set specific requirements for each facility, more particularly the limits for water intake and discharge of radioactive or chemical substances. Monitoring discharges from BNIs The monitoring of discharges from an installation is essentially the responsibility of the licensee. The ASN requirements regulating discharges stipulate the minimum checks that the licensee is required to carry out. This monitoring focuses on the liquid or gaseous effluents (monitoring of the activity of discharges or concentrations and flows of chemical substances discharged, characterisation of certain effluents prior to discharge, etc.) and on the environment around the facility (checks during discharge, samples of air, water, milk, grass, etc.) with regard to all pertinent parameters for characterising the impact of the facility on humans and the environment. The results of this monitoring are recorded in registers transmitted to ASN every month. The BNI licensees also regularly transmit a certain number of discharge samples to an independent laboratory for crossanalysis. The results of these “cross-analyses” are sent to ASN. This programme of cross-analyses defined by ASN is a way of ensuring that the accuracy of the measurements taken by the licensee laboratories is maintained over time. The inspections carried out by ASN Through dedicated inspections, ASN ensures that the licensees actually comply with the regulations binding upon them with regard to the management of discharges and the environmental and health impact of their facilities. Every year, it carries out about 90 inspections of this type, split among the following three topics: ∙ prevention of pollution and management of detrimental effects and non-radiological hazards; ∙ water intake and effluent discharge, monitoring of discharges and the environment; ∙ waste management. Each of these topics covers both radiological and non-radiological aspects. Every year, ASN carries out 10 to 20 inspections with sampling and measurement. They are generally unannounced and are run with the support of specialist, independent laboratories appointed by ASN. Effluent and environmental samples are taken for radiological and chemical analyses. Finally, every year, ASN carries out several reinforced inspections which aim to check the organisation put into place by the licensee to protect the environment; 158 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2023 • 03 • Regulation of nuclear activities and exposure to ionising radiation
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