LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT The water quality control implemented by the ARS includes a step of screening the distributed water using gross alpha and gross beta activity concentrations and the tritium content. The associated quality guidelines and reference values are 0.1 becquerel per litre (Bq/L), 1 Bq/L and 100 Bq/L, respectively. If any one of these values is exceeded in the tested water, the radionuclides causing this activity (natural and/or artificial) are identified and an indicative dose is calculated. The corrective action to be taken if the calculated indicative dose exceeds the quality reference of 0.1 mSv/year depend on both the origin of the radioactivity (natural or artificial) and/or the dose level attained. With regard to tritium, although it can be measured in drinking water at levels that exceed the environmental background radiation (approximately 1 Bq/L), none of these measurements have exceeded the quality reference level in force for this radionuclide (100 Bq/L). Furthermore, none of these measurements has revealed any exceedance of the health reference level established for this radionuclide by the WHO (10,000 Bq/L). Since 2019, measurement of the radon content of tap water and bottled water has been compulsory. This new obligation was accompanied by an instruction drawn up in consultation with ASN and issued in 2018 to the ARS by the General Directorate for Health (DGS – ASN opinion 2018-AV-0302 of 6 March 2018 on radon management methods for the health quality control of water intended for human consumption). Exposure due to radon In France, the regulations relative to management of the radon risk, put in place in the early 2000’s for certain Public Access Buildings (PABs), were extended to certain workplaces in 2008. In 2016, radon was introduced into the indoor air quality policy. Transposition of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom of 5 December 2013 laying down Basic Safety Standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation led to the amending of the provisions applicable to radon since 1 July 2018. A reference level of 300 Bq/m3 has been introduced. It is applicable to all situations, which enables the health risk associated with radon to be managed with an all-inclusive approach. The regulations have been extended with provisions concerning the three main sectors: ∙For the general public: radon is now included in the information to be provided to buyers and tenants of real estate situated in areas where the radon potential could be the highest (zone 3). ∙In workplaces, the regulations have been extended to cover professional activities exercised on ground floor levels (only activities carried out in basements were concerned until now) and in certain specific workplaces. Whatever the radon potential zone in which the workplace is situated, radon must be considered in the risk assessment. If necessary, a measurement can be taken in this context, if there is a risk of reaching or exceeding the reference level of 300 Bq/m3. If the reference level is exceeded, the employer must take action to reduce the radon activity concentration. If the action turns out to be ineffective, the employer must identify, signal and verify the “radon zones” in which the concentration exceeds 300 Bq/m3, and implement radiation protection measures if necessary according to the level of exposure of the workers. ∙In some PABs, the radon management methods have been adjusted, more specifically with the inclusion of day-care facilities for children under six years of age and an obligation to inform the public by displaying the radon measurement results(4). The type of action to be taken if the reference level of 300 Bq/m3 is exceeded is graded according to the results of the measurements: corrective action if the radon concentration is between 301 and 999 Bq/m3, assessment and work if the corrective action does not enable the radon concentration to return to a level less than or equal to the reference level or if the measurement results are greater than 1,000 Bq/m3. 4. Order of 26 February 2019 on the methods of managing radon in certain public access buildings and dissemination of information to the people who frequent these buildings ASNR issues the approvals to the organisations that measure radon in certain PABs. In 2025, 37 approvals were issued 32 of which were level 1 and 5 of level 2, bringing the total number to 67, with 14 level 2 approvals as at 17 September 2025. The list is available in the ASNR Official Bulletin. The level-1 organisations take the measurements to evaluate the average annual concentration in the buildings. Four types of measurement can be taken: initial measurement, ten-yearly measurement, measurement to verify the effectiveness of corrective action or works, and measurement after works that significantly modify the ventilation or airtightness of the building. In 2024-2025, 1,787 measurements were declared, of which over 85% correspond to initial or ten-yearly measurements. In the event of a survey, additional measurements, corresponding to level-2 approvals, can be taken. They are used to determine the radon sources and the entry and transfer pathways in the PABs. They provide additional data, particularly for buildings with a large surface area and complex substructures. Over the last six years, between 30 and 100 additional measurements have been carried out each year. The data transmitted to ASNR each year by these organisations in their annual report concern the measurements taken in the PABs that are subject to monitoring of exposure of the public, defined in Article D. 1333-32of the Public Health Code (level 1 and 2 approvals). Analysis of the level 1 data over the last eight measurement campaigns continues to show a trend towards an improvement in the situation, with a gradual increase in the number of buildings showing a result less than or equal to the reference level of 300 Bq/m3 in the context of the initial and ten-yearly measurements (see Graph 8). During the last campaign of 2024‑2025, the radon activity concentration was less than or equal to the reference level of 300 Bq/m3 in the three spa establishments that carried out measurements, in 90% of the care facilities for children under 6 years of age, 82% of the healthcare, social and medico-social facilities and prisons, 77% of the teaching institutions and 67% of the spas measured. If the reference level is exceeded, the facility concerned is obliged to carry out corrective action or works, then check the effectiveness through a new measurement. The analysis of the results over the last nine years shows that they are generally improving, despite a decline, in the 2024–2025 campaign, in the number of effectiveness verifications whose results are below or equal to the reference level of 300 Bq/m³, by nearly 15 percentage points (from 56% in 2024 to 41% in 2025). Thus, in the last campaign, slightly more than half of the effectiveness verification measurements (58%) gave results exceeding the reference level, with a clear increase in the proportion of those with results of 1,000 Bq/m3 or higher, which dropped from 1 to 8% (see Graph 9). Over the last nine measuring campaigns, the categories of establishments having undergone initial or ten-yearly measurements are broken down as follows: 60% educational institutions (from nursery school to secondary high school), 27% healthcare, social and medico-social institutions, 13% care facilities for children under 6 years of age, 0.4% penal establishments and 0.3% spas (see Graph 10). More generally, the management strategy for the radon risk is set out in a national action plan. Implementation of this plan will improve the way the general public and the stakeholders concerned are informed and will enhance knowledge of radon exposure in the home and how it evolves. 158 ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
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