Law TSN, art. 19, I Any person has the right to obtain from the a basic nuclear installation licensee or, when the quantities exceed thresholds set by decree, from the person responsible for a radioactive substance transport operation or the holder of such substances, the information held by these people, whether that information was received or established by them, on the risks associated with exposure to ionising radiation that could result from this activity and on the safety and radiation protection measures taken to prevent or reduce these risks or exposures, under the conditions defined in Articles L. 124-1 to L. 124-6 of the Environment Code. “Chernobyl was the catalyst for the creation of CRIIRAD and ACRO. It is therefore an important development. The Chernobyl accident brought a rude awakening to the reality of nuclear risks and changed the debate on the subject with the rise of the ‘green’ movements In my opinion it is a change that culminated in 2006 with the TSN Act (editor’s note: Act on Transparency and Security in the Nuclear Field).” Yves Marignac Consultant on nuclear power and the energy transition within the négaWatt group Development of systems for informing the public The Chernobyl accident revealed the absence of public communication tools in France. The French public had to wait 13 days before learning that France had not been spared by the radioactive cloud. Yet regulatory texts had been drawn up since 1973 and means put in place to inform the public about nuclear safety. The SCSIN was thus tasked with organising informing of the public about safety issues For the Chernobyl accident, it published on France’s “Minitel” telematics system a nuclear magazine (3614 MAGNUC), which fulfilled this purpose with limited effectiveness. In 1980, the CEA’s IPSN opened a documentation centre on nuclear safety, with the aim of facilitating public access to the information available on this subject. But it was not until 2010 that the French national environmental radioactivity measurement network (ASN/ IRSN) opened its website. In 1991, the IAEA introduced the INES scale at international level, while in France, in 2006, the “TSN Act” on transparency and security in the nuclear field allowed the creation of the independent body ASN and the French High Committee for Transparency and Information on Nuclear Safety (HCTISN). Emergence of independent citizens’ monitoring associations • The Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity (CRIIRAD) Another consequence of the Chernobyl accident was the creation in May 1986 of the CRIIRAD, an expert investigation commission, stemming from the antinuclear movement and accredited for environmental protection. The association’s aim is to produce expert assessments and field measurements independently of the public authorities, as a means of combating what it considers to be information blackouts or disinformation on the subject of nuclear energy. • Association for the Control of Radioactivity in the West (ACRO) Also created further to the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, ACRO is a citizens’ association for providing information and monitoring radioactivity, equipped with an analysis laboratory and accredited for environmental protection. Management of the emergency and post-accident phases Following the Chernobyl accident, the response organisation was reinforced, both in the installation itself and in its environment. International emergency exercises are regularly organised. Under the auspices of the IAEA, international conventions have been put in place to rapidly inform other countries of any nuclear accident and to improve the assistance logistics. Finally, the management of the long-term consequences of nuclear accidents (decontamination of the environment, mitigation of exposure of persons) has progressed. Nuclear accidents and developments in nuclear safety and radiation protection • 21
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