News releases

All the news about nuclear safety and radiation protection

470 news

Published on 25/11/2014 at 10:30

ASN presents the French approach to the decommissioning of nuclear facilities

On 7th November 2014, Mr Masuda, TEPCO’s Head of decommissioning operations for reactors 1 to 4 of the Fukushima Daiichi NPP, met Philippe Jamet, ASN commissioner, and Fabien Schiltz, director of ASN’s Waste, Research Facilities and Fuel Cycle Facilities Department, in charge of decommissioning issues for the installations concerned in France.

Published on 24/11/2014 at 10:00

New European Approach for cross-border Emergency Preparedness

The heads of the national nuclear and radiation safety regulators in Europe have developed and agreed on a new approach to further improve the response and cross-border coordination for all types of possible accident scenarios including severe accidents, like the one in Fukushima. It contains overarching principles and provides an incentive for joint actions between neighbouring countries. The regulators have committed to engage a cooperation at national level with the competent authorities in charge of civil protection for the implementation of the corresponding measures.

Published on 17/11/2014 at 15:20

EPR Reactor: Information Letter n°16

In the second half of 2013 and early 2014, ASN carried out a number of inspections to continue its monitoring of the Flamanville 3 EPR reactor construction site and the various items being manufactured for it. The significant points over these recent months are detailed below.

Published on 13/11/2014 at 15:15

Reducing the average concentration of radon in European countries

Under a joint initiative from ASN and NRPA, 20 European countries, represented by authorities in charge of Radiation Protection, Health, Labour and Housing and Landscaping were brought together during a workshop on national radon action plans.

Published on 06/08/2014 at 17:00

ASN renews the mandate of the members of its Scientific Committee

By Resolution 2014-0438 of 8th July 2014, the ASN Commission has renewed for four years the mandate of the eight members of the Scientific Committee, appointed on the basis of their technical or scientific competence.

The main task of the ASN Scientific Committee, which was created in May 2010, is to examine and give its opinion on the research work to be carried out or to be taken to greater depth in the areas of nuclear safety and radiation protection. Indeed, ASN wishes to ensure that the lines of research it has identified are effectively taken into account in the nuclear safety and radiation protection research orientations defined by its technical support organisation IRSN (French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety), by the licensees and by the other actors of French research (universities, industry).

Published on 30/07/2014 at 14:00

ASN rates the incident level 2 on the INES scale

On 16th July 2014, the Director of the regional agency of the Welding Institute of Latresne (Gironde département) informed ASN of the accidental exposure of a worker to ionising radiation on 11th June 2014.

Published on 08/07/2014 at 10:20

The European Union member States propose a revision of the Nuclear Safety Directive

ASN is very pleased with the agreement reached on Wednesday 11th June between the permanent representatives of the 28 member States of the European Union on the proposed revision of the directive establishing a community framework for the safety of nuclear installations The proposal is still to be formally adopted by the Council of the European Union Ministers at a meeting scheduled for 8th July 2014.

Published on 07/07/2014 at 14:00

ASN gives a level 2 rating on the INES scale to an incident

On 18th April 2014, ASN was informed by the DCNS of an incident which occurred during the night of 17th to 18th April 2014 during radiographic inspections on the Nantes – Indret à La Montagne site (département 44). A team consisting of an operator from the OTECMI company’s Plabennec office (département 29), and an operator from the SGS Qualitest Industrie company’s Harfleur office (département 76), was carrying out radiographic inspections using a gamma ray projector containing a sealed radioactive source of iridium 192 with an activity of 1.95 TBq (terabecquerels) in one of the workshops on the DCNS site.

Published on 02/07/2014 at 16:15

ASN / NRPA protocol

Ole Harbitz, Director General of the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA), and Jean-Christophe Niel, Director General of the ASN, have signed at ASN premises on 2 July 2014 a Protocol on early notification and information exchange in the event of a nuclear or radiological accident or incident.

Published on 23/06/2014 at 12:20

Chairmanship of the Steering Technical Committee of MDEP

Since January 2014, Sophie Mourlon, Deputy Director-General of the ASN, chairs the Steering Technical Committee (STC) of the Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP). The STC oversees the work of technical groups within the MDEP.

Published on 23/06/2014 at 11:20

Review of new reactor designs

The 3rd Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP) Conference on New Reactor Design Activities was held in Washington on 14-15 May 2014.
This conference was attended by almost 150 people from national regulators (including 14 regulatory bodies members of the MDEP), international organizations and nuclear industry from more than 17 countries. The closing session was co-chaired by Pierre-Franck Chevet, Chairman of the ASN and Allison Macfarlane, Chairman of the US NRC (US regulatory body) and current Chairman of the MDEP.

Published on 22/05/2014 at 10:00

Uncontrolled release of radioactive effluents into the public sewerage system

Following a series of events in 2012 and 2013 (see table below) involving leaks from the radioactive effluents collection network (mainly iodine 131) in the nuclear medicine unit of the Haut-Lévêque hospital in Pessac, ASN reclassifies the most significant of these events (notified in August 2013) level 2 on the INES scale, owing to insufficient monitoring of the effluents network and the absence of safety culture. ASN remains attentive to the implementation of the corrective measures.