News releases

All the news about nuclear safety and radiation protection

476 news

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.

Published on 05/05/2014 at 16:30

ASN 2013 Report

On 15th April, ASN presented its report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2013 to the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices (OPECST) in the National Assembly’s premises.
On 16th April, ASN also held a press conference at its headquarters in Montrouge for about forty journalists from the international, national and regional press.
The ASN Commission and its Chairman, Pierre-Franck Chevet, presented the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2013, before reviewing ASN, its roles and the strategic priorities for nuclear safety and radiation protection in 2014.

Published on 31/01/2014 at 12:30

ITER: first inspection on the site of a foreign supplier.

On 19th December 2013, ASN performed the first inspection abroad, in the plant of a company responsible for manufacturing certain segments of the ITER facility’s vacuum containment . The inspection took place in Italy (Monfalcone, Friuli).

Published on 15/01/2014 at 12:25

Proposed revision of the European directive on nuclear safety

ASN is today making public its opinion on the proposed revision of the European directive on nuclear safety, which constitutes the legislative and regulatory framework underpinning the safety of the nuclear facilities of the Member States of the European Union. ASN highlights those aspects of the proposed revision of this directive which it considers to be steps in the right direction. At the same time, it underlines those subjects which still need to be addressed in order to give the European nuclear safety framework its full scope and potential.

Published on 18/12/2013 at 10:47

Interventional Radiology: ASN gives a level 2 rating on the Ines scale

On 30th May 2013, ASN was informed that the passive dosimeter results for a radiation therapy technician in Saint-Eloi hospital of the Montpellier CHRU had integrated over the last quarter of 2012 an effective dose of 32 mSv. This result is higher than the regulation annual limit set at 20 millisieverts.

Published on 25/11/2013 at 11:00

EPR Reactor: Information Letter n°15

In the first half of 2013, ASN continued its monitoring of construction of the Flamanville 3 EPR reactor and various other manufacturing operations for this reactor; ASN carried out several inspections. The notable points observed over these last few months are detailed below.

Published on 18/11/2013 at 12:25

ASN Guide relative to the protection against external flooding

ASN Guide No.13 relative to "the protection of basic nuclear installations against external flooding" is intended for the licensees/applicants and contains recommendations for assessing and quantifying the external flood hazard faced by these facilities and for determining the appropriate means of protection adapted to the specifics of the flooding hazard.

Published on 23/09/2013 at 16:05

ASN receives ISO 17 020 accreditation

Since 1st July 2013, ASN has been accredited in compliance with ISO/IEC 17 020 as a type A inspection body in the field of manufacturing and in-service monitoring of nuclear pressure equipment.