LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT 3.1.6 – Inspection of ASNR approved organisations and laboratories ASNR carries out a second level of inspection on approved organisations and laboratories. In addition to reviewing the application file and issuing the approval, this comprises surveillance actions such as: ∙approval audits (initial or renewal audit); ∙checks to ensure that the organisation and operation of the entity concerned comply with the applicable requirements; ∙supervisory checks, which are usually unannounced, to ensure that the organisation’s staff work in satisfactory conditions. In 2025, 128 inspector.days were devoted to checking approved organisations and laboratories, corresponding to 65 inspections, 26% of which were unannounced, plus 4 remote inspections. 3.1.7 – Checks on exposure to radon and Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials ASNR also checks radiation protection for workers and the public in premises where the exposure of persons to naturally occurring radiation may be reinforced owing to the underlying geological context (radon in Public Access Buildings (PABs) and in the workplace). Monitoring exposure to radon ▸ Public exposure To regulate public exposure to ionising radiation, ASNR works with organisations approved to measure radon, as well as with managers of PABs. Article R. 1333‑33 of the Public Health Code states that the activity concentration of radon in certain PABs is measured by ASNR. Radon risk management in these facilities depends on the reliability of the results of the measurements obtained and therefore on the competence of the approved bodies, which are the only ones authorised to carry out these measurements. ASNR is responsible for ensuring the competence of these organisations through approval and monitoring processes. Twelve bodies approved to measure radon were inspected in 2025, representing 17% of the bodies approved over the period. The scope of ASNR’s inspections covered verification of compliance with the requirements of the Public Health Code (Articles L. 1333-22 and L. 1333-23, Articles R. 1333-28 to R. 1333-36 and Article D. 133332), the Order of 26 February 2019 on radon management methods in certain PABs, and three ASN resolutions: ASN 2015-DC-0506 of 9 April 2015, ASN 2022-DC-0743 of 13 October 2022 and ASN 2022-DC-0745 of 13 October 2022. The results of these inspections were satisfactory, particularly with regard to: ∙integration of requests made by ASNR in follow-up letters issued after previous inspections, in approval notification letters or following alerts sent by stakeholders; ∙management of the provisions relating to the independence and impartiality of approved bodies; ∙knowledge of applicable regulations and standards; ∙staff qualifications, although difficulties in harmonising practices persist within bodies employing large numbers of personnel; ∙the equipment used and its storage conditions; ∙compliance with the regulatory requirements regarding detector installation period and exposure duration; ∙the clarity of the reports submitted to clients; ∙the timely submission of annual activity reports to ASNR. For level 1, the most noteworthy areas for improvement concern the methods used to determine homogeneous zones (unoccupied rooms are still frequently excluded from the radiological zoning HIGHLIGHT No. 2 Balancing the continuity of inspection missions with innovative methods ASNR ensures that the inspectors’ skills are maintained at a level that enables them to carry out their duties effectively in a context of changing technologies and practices of those responsible for nuclear activities. Those in charge of nuclear activities are constantly seeking technical and methodological innovations in their sector of activity. Where these may have an impact on nuclear safety or radiation protection, ASNR ensures that its inspectors are able to assess them critically by adapting their questioning and investigations during the inspection. For example, in the case of radiotherapy, a key point in the treatment is the contouring stage, which can be carried out with the help of AI. As a result, the inspection procedures have consequently evolved; inspectors check how practitioners validate these stages. In BNIs, AI is also a significant issue taken into consideration by ASNR (see Highlight No. 1). Major complex projects in the nuclear sector, such as “The Future BackEnd” (led by Orano), new NPPs or the decommissioning of major facilities, are also sources of innovation. In recent years, ASNR has been involved in inspections on the management of complex projects. These ensure, at a very early stage in their development, that poorly identified weaknesses will not jeopardise safety. In addition, innovation at ASNR is encouraged so that practices and the use of existing tools do not remain locked into the same oversight methods. On the one hand, changing practices responds to the context and provides a means to react in order to maintain rigorous oversight; on the other hand, it allows for the scope of this oversight to be expanded. In the past, oversight has evolved to deal with the risks of counterfeiting, falsification and fraud, to maintain control of nuclear activities during the Covid-19 pandemic, and by making changes to the way inspection follow-up letters are drafted, with more emphasis on the priority deviations to be dealt with. This year, new inspection approaches were tested: • three-shift inspection of operations at the Cruas-Meysse NPP by a team of experienced inspectors to check compliance with nuclear safety standards during the plant’s continuous operation, • inspection of the phased activation of the various PUI command posts with a limited number of personnel at the Nogent-sur-Seine NPP, • project management In-depth inspection of the Melox plant at Marcoule for a week by experienced inspectors. At the same time, for the dental surgery inspection campaign (see chapter 5, Highlight No. 8), ASNR developed a self-assessment questionnaire sent to practitioners so that they could check whether they were complying with regulatory radiation protection requirements. This checklist was drawn up with representatives of the dental surgery profession (Association dentaire française – French Dental Association – ADF). It also enables practitioners to test their knowledge, particularly in the area of justifying and optimising patient doses when using a Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) scanner. Innovative practices are shared and the operating experience feedback is made available so that inspectors have tools they can use if they encounter unusual inspection situations. Lastly, ASNR is continuing to develop its inspection follow-up letter search tool, combined with an artificial intelligence engine, to prepare inspections, draw up activity reports and enrich the development of inspection programmes for the coming years. ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025 149 01 02 03 05 09 06 10 07 11 13 04 08 12 A / Z
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