LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT evaluates the average individual effective dose per person in France at 0.31 mSv with a variation of 0.3 to 1.1 mSv/year depending on the municipalities. Passengers and flight crew are exposed during air travel, depending on the flight altitude and the journey, to exposure varying from a few microsieverts (μSv) for short-haul domestic flight within France to nearly 80 μSv for a flight from Paris to Ottawa (Canada). The average annual effective dose received by the population in France is 14 μSv. On account of the increased exposure to cosmic radiation due to extensive periods spent at high altitude, dosimetric monitoring is necessary for flight personnel (see chapter 3, point 4.1.2). 2.1.2 – Natural terrestrial radiation (excluding radon) Natural radionuclides of terrestrial origin are present at various levels in all the compartments of our environment, including inside the human body. They lead to external exposure of the population owing to gamma rays emitted by the uranium-238 and thorium-232 daughter products and by the potassium-40 present in the soil. External exposure to gamma rays of terrestrial origin Based on the results of a) ambient gamma dose rate measurements taken in France inside buildings, b) the mapping of the uranium potential of geological formations, c) a correlation between the gamma dose rate of terrestrial origin outside the home and inside the home, and d) assumptions on the time spent by the population inside and outside the home (92% and 8% respectively), ASNR estimates that the average annual effective dose due to external exposure to gamma radiation of terrestrial origin in France is about 0.63 mSv per person per year. It varies from 0.30 mSv/year to 2.0 mSv/year depending on the municipality. Exposure linked to the incorporation of radionuclides of natural origin The average internal exposure due to the incorporation of radionuclides of natural origin is estimated at 0.55 mSv/year. The two main components of this exposure are the incorporation through foodstuffs and drinking water of potassium-40 (0.18 mSv) and daughter products of the uranium and thorium chains (0.32 mSv). Depending on individual consumption habits, in particular the consumption of fish, seafood and tobacco, this exposure can vary greatly: from 0.4 mSv/year to over 3.1 mSv/year, respectively, for people who do not consume these products and those who consume them in large quantities. Waters intended for human consumption, in particular groundwater and mineral waters, become charged in natural radionuclides due to the nature of the geological strata in which they lie. The concentration of uranium and thorium daughter products and of potassium-40 varies according to the resource exploited, given the geological nature of the ground. The average effective dose linked to the decay products of the U‑Th chains in drinking water is estimated by ASNR at 0.01 mSv/year. A high value of 0.30 mSv/year is used to illustrate the variability of this exposure. 2.1.3 – Radon Some geological areas have a high radon exhalation potential due to the geological characteristics of the ground (granitic bedrock, for example). The concentration measured inside homes also depends on the airtightness of the building (foundations), the ventilation of the rooms and the life style of the occupants. National measuring campaigns have enabled the French départements to be classified according to the radon exhalation potential of the ground. In 2011, IRSN published a map of France considering the radon exhalation potential of the ground, based on data from the French Geological and Mining Research Office (BRGM). Based on this, a more fine-grained classification, by municipality, was published through the Interministerial Order of 27 June 2018 (see search engine by municipality and mapping accessible on the ASNR website, or the interactive Géorisques map, developed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion and which lists all the natural and technological risks on French territory). Working from the available measurement results and the mapping of the geogenic radon potential of the country, the average time spent inside the home and assumptions on the type of housing concerned (collective or individual), IRSN estimated the average radon concentration for each municipality; the average radon-222 concentration inside homes in metropolitan France, weighted by population and type of housing, is 60.8 Bq/m3. With the dose factor in effect since 1 January 2024, the average effective dose per inhabitant is estimated at 3.5 mSv/year. This effective dose varies from 0.75 mSv/year to 47 mSv/year depending on the municipality. The new obligation for radon detector analysis laboratories to send ASNR the measurement results and the expected results of action 7 of the fourth French action plan for management of the radon risk (see chapter 3, point 4.2.2), relative to the defining of organisation methods for collecting the radon measurement data should improve knowledge of radon exposures in France. 2.2 Ionising radiation arising from human activities The human activities involving a risk of exposure to ionising radiation, called nuclear activities, can be grouped into the following categories: ∙operation of Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs); ∙small-scale nuclear activities; ∙removal of radioactive waste; ∙management of contaminated sites; ∙transport of radioactive substances; ∙activities leading to enhanced natural ionising radiation. 2.2.1 – Basic Nuclear Installations Nuclear activities are highly diverse, covering any activity relating to the preparation or utilisation of radioactive substances or ionising radiation. These activities are subject to the general provisions of the Public Health Code and, depending on their nature and the risks that Installation of radon detectors in a wine cellar. 112 ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NjQ0NzU=