Glossary ACRO (Association for Monitoring Radioactivity in Western France) – Created in the wake of the Chernobyl NPP disaster (Ukraine) in 1986, ACRO is a citizens' association for providing information on and monitoring radioactivity, equipped with an analysis laboratory and accredited for environmental protection. AEC (United States Atomic Energy Agency) – Organisation dissolved in 1974. The regulation functions were then assigned to a new organisation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). AFSSAPS (French Health Products Safety Agency) – A public institution created in 1999 under the authority of the Ministry of Health, the AFSSAPS set up a health watch and safety system. In 2012, the AFSSAPS changed name to become the ANSM (French Health Products Safety Agency). AIEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Intergovernmental organisation created in 1957, with the same legal structure as the United Nations Organisation (UNO), mandated to foster and promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technology throughout the world. With 170 member countries, the IAEA is the main forum for cooperation in the field of nuclear activities. Apart from its role in overseeing the commitments made by the countries party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and assisting its member countries in the use of nuclear technologies, the IAEA produces and keeps up to date a set of nuclear safety standards, encourages their application in the member countries and works to develop international cooperation in order to maintain a high level of nuclear safety and protection of people and the environment against ionising radiation at global level. ASN (French Nuclear Regulator or “Nuclear Safety Authority”) An independent administrative authority (and not a State operator), created by Act 2006-686 of 13 June 2006 on Transparency and Security in the Nuclear Field (the “TSN” Act), ASN ensures, in the name of the State, the oversight of nuclear safety and radiation protection to protect people and the environment against the risks associated with civil nuclear activities. ASN-SFRO [scale] – (ASN/French Society for Radiation Oncology) – The ASN-SFRO scale is designed for communicating with the public in comprehensible and explicit terms, on radiation protection events leading to unexpected or unforeseeable effects on patients under-going medical treatment by external-beam radiotherapy. ATPu (Plutonium technology facility) Operated by the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), the main activity of the ATPu was the production of Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel, consisting of depleted uranium oxides and plutonium, for nuclear reactors. BNI (Basic Nuclear Installation) Facility which, due to its nature or the quantity or activity of the radioactive substances it contains, is subject to the Act of 13 June 2006 ("TSN Act") and the Order of 7 February 2012. BNIs must be authorised by decree further to a public inquiry and the opinion of ASN. Their design, construction, operation (when functioning and when shut down) and decommissioning are regulated. CEA (Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) – Formerly the Atomic Energy Commission, the CEA is a player in research, development and innovation in the fields of energy, defence, information technology and health. The CEA works in four areas: defence and security, low-carbon energies (nuclear and renewables), technological research for industry, and fundamental research (science of matter and life sciences). CLI (Local Information Committee) Set up near each French nuclear facility, the CLIs are pluralistic local information and consultation organisations, bringing together the Basic Nuclear Installation (BNI) licensee, ASN, the representatives of the municipalities near the NPP and the local populations, and members of associations. They are tasked with monitoring the impact and the safety of the nuclear power plants and facilities. Each CLI belongs to a federation, the National Association of Local Information Committees (Anccli). Coolant – Cooling fluid which extracts the heat from the fuel assemblies and transmits it to the turbine as mechanical energy. The coolant used in PWR and RBMK reactors is water, while sodium is used in fast neutron reactors. Corium - Mass of molten fuels and nuclear reactor core structural elements mixed together, which can form in the event of a severe accident. CRIIRAD (Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity) Association created under the French Act of 1901, which conducts studies and analyses in the field of radioactivity and is approved for environmental protection. CSIA (Atomic Facilities Safety Commission) Commission created in January 1960 responsible for examining the safety of the facilities of the Renewables Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). The CSIA was created in France following an international reflection on the organisation of nuclear safety (counterparts existing in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada). Divergence – Start of the chain reaction process in a reactor. Start of the activity of a reactor. ••• Nuclear accidents and developments in nuclear safety and radiation protection • 33
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