4.3 The other suppliers of sources Evaluation of the radiation protection situation 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 reviews the license applications for the sources these suppliers wish to distribute in France. In 2024, cyclotrons excluded, 27 inspections were carried out at the manufacturers/suppliers of radioactive sources or sources emitting ionising radiation. These inspections were carried out at manufacturers/distributors of sealed and unsealed radioactive sources, companies removing lightning conductors or removing and dismantling ICSDs, and companies manufacturing, installing, or maintaining electrical generators of ionising radiation or particle accelerators (although they are not yet subject to a distribution authorisation, these devices are subject to utilisation regulations, including in particular the commissioning or maintenance operations carried out by the companies that sell them). Several of the inspections concerned priority themes other than those mentioned above, such as four inspections focusing on the protection of radioactive sources against malicious acts. Lastly, two inspections concerned a foreign company supplying ionising radiation sources in France. These inspections covered about a third of the suppliers with safety-significant business, considering specific inspection criteria, more particularly linked to the suppliers’ responsibilities in the tracking and recovery of disused sealed radioactive sources from the users in order to dispose of them appropriately, taking into account the radiation risks they present for people and the environment. ASN considers the radiation protection situation associated with the radionuclide supply activity to be satisfactory on the whole. The large majority of licensees meet the main requirements and assume their responsibilities adequately (transfer of documents on delivery, setting up the source recovery streams, transmission of information to IRSN). More specifically, compliance with the obligation of unconditional recovery of distributed sealed radioactive sources that have expired (ten years counting from the date of the first registration figuring on the supply form) or have become disused, is stable with respect to 2023. The inspections carried out in 2024 moreover found significant improvements in the tracking of particle accelerators and electrical devices emitting ionising radiation by the suppliers compared with 2023, thanks to the deployment of appropriate tracking tools. Likewise, there is a significant improvement compared with 2023 in the identification by the suppliers of the sealed radioactive sources they supplied and which have expired (sources of more than ten years) but not yet been recovered. These inspections nevertheless also revealed certain points requiring particular attention, such as the exhaustiveness of the verifications performed by the suppliers prior to the delivery of all sources, which has regressed compared with 2023. 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 an administrative document (license or registration or notification acknowledgement) authorising the customer to hold the source concerned, verification of the fact that the delivery of the source in itself will not, considering the other sources already delivered by the supplier, result in exceeding of the customer’s license limits, and lastly that the delivery address is consistent with the authorised Location of cyclotrons in France LA RÉUNION MARTINIQUE GUADELOUPE Research (non-medical) Production for research (medical and non-medical) Production for in vivo diagnosis (primarily) and for research (medical or non-medical) On stand-by Planned Stopped ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 273 11 12 13 14 15 AP 10 09 Sources of ionising radiation and their industrial, veterinary and research applications 08 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
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