LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT In France, the party Responsible for a Nuclear Activity (RNA) must ensure that this activity is safe and may not delegate this responsibility. They must ensure permanent monitoring of both this activity and the equipment used. Given the risks linked to ionising radiation for humans and the environment, the State regulates nuclear activities, a task it has entrusted to the French Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR). With the aim of ensuring greater administrative efficiency, ASNR has also been entrusted with the oversight of regulations concerning the environment and Pressure Equipment (PE) in Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs). Control and regulation of nuclear activities is a fundamental responsibility of ASNR. Its primary goal is to ensure that an RNA effectively assumes its obligations. ASNR has a vision of control and regulation encompassing material, organisational and human aspects. Following safety and radiation protection assessments in each activity sector, ASNR implements its oversight action by issuing resolutions, prescriptions, inspection follow-up letters, plus penalties as applicable. The oversight priorities are defined with regard to the risks inherent in the activities, the means deployed by those responsible for the activities to control them and their behaviour. In the priority areas, ASNR must reinforce its oversight. Conversely, for lower-risk areas, ASNR must be able to explicitly apply a graded approach to its regulation and oversight. 1 – Verifying that the licensee assumes its responsibilities 1.1 The principles of ASNR’s oversight duties Since 1 January 2025, the ASN regulation/oversight and IRSN expert assessment missions have been combined within the Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR). ASNR’s oversight aims primarily to ensure that those responsible for an activity effectively assume their obligations and comply with the requirements of the regulations concerning nuclear safety and radiation protection, in order to protect people and the environment from the risks linked to radioactivity and to the operation of nuclear facilities. It applies to all the phases in the performance of the activity, including the decommissioning phase for nuclear installations: ∙before the licensee exercises an activity subject to authorisation, by reviewing and analysing the files, documents and information provided by the licensee to justify its project with regard to safety and radiation protection. This verification ensures that the information and demonstration supplied are both relevant and sufficient; ∙during exercise of the activity, by visits, inspections, oversight of licensee operations entailing significant potential consequences, review of reports supplied by the licensee and analysis of significant events. This oversight includes an analysis of any justifications provided by the licensee. ASNR applies the principle of proportionality when determining its actions, so that the scope, conditions and extent of its regulatory action are commensurate with the human and environmental protection implications involved. 1.2 The scope of regulation of nuclear activities Article L. 592‑22 of the Environment Code states that ASNR must regulate compliance with the general rules and particular requirements of safety and radiation protection, applicable to: ∙the BNI licensees; ∙their suppliers, contractors or sub-contractors when they carry out activities important for the protection of people and the environment outside the scope of the BNIs; ∙the manufacturers and users of Nuclear Pressure Equipment (NPE) used in the BNIs; ∙those in charge of Radioactive Substances Transport (RST); ∙the persons responsible for activities entailing a risk of exposure of people and workers to ionising radiation, including medical applications of ionising radiation; ∙those in charge of implementing ionising radiation exposure monitoring measures, such as the approved organisations and laboratories. In this chapter, these persons or entities are collectively referred to as the “licensees”. In addition, within the BNIs, the ASNR inspectors have rights and prerogatives given to the environmental inspectors to verify the provisions regarding protection of the environment. Finally, ASNR carries out labour inspectorate duties in the Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs – see chapter 8). 142 ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
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