LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT The devices with the largest inspection tunnel areas are used for screening large baggage items and hold baggage in airports, as well as for air freight inspections. These devices are supplemented by tomographs, which give a series of series of cross-sectional images of the object being examined. The irradiation zone inside these appliances is sometime delimited by doors, but most often simply by one or more lead curtains. X-ray body scanners This application is mentioned for information only, since the X-ray scanners are not currently used for security checks on people in France (pursuant to Article L. 1333-18 of the Public Health Code). Some experiments have been carried out in France using nonionising imaging technologies (millimetre waves). Inspection of consumer goods The use of devices for detecting foreign bodies in certain consumer products has developed over the last few years, such as for detecting unwanted items in food products or cosmetics. X-ray diffraction analysis Research laboratories are making increasing use of small devices of this type, which are self-shielded. Experimental devices used for X-ray diffraction analysis can however be made up from parts obtained from various suppliers (goniometer, sample holder, tube, detector, high-voltage generator, control console, etc.) and assembled by the experimenter themselves. X-ray fluorescence analysis Portable X-ray fluorescence devices are used for the analysis of metals and alloys. Measuring parameters These devices, which operate on the principle of X-ray attenuation, are used as industrial gauges for measuring fluid levels in cylinders or drums, for detecting leaks, for measuring thicknesses or density, etc. Irradiation treatment More generally used for performing irradiations, the self-shielded devices exist in several models that sometimes differ only in the size of the self-shielded chamber, while the characteristics of the X-ray generator remain the same. Radiography for checking the quality of weld beads or for the fatigue inspection of materials is detailed in point 3.1.1. 1.3.2 – Veterinary diagnostic radiology In 2025, the profession counted 22,158 veterinary surgeons, about 20,000 non-veterinarian employees and 6,528 veterinary facilities. These facilities increasingly belong to large groups (the number of which is estimated to reach around ten by 2025), sometimes set up as a network grouping several hundred veterinary practices, thereby allowing the sharing of resources between facilities. This trend goes hand in hand with the tendency for veterinary surgeons to no longer necessarily want to own their own practice. Private practice facilities owned by veterinary surgeons nevertheless still exist, sometimes with special legal statuses allowing, for example, several veterinary surgeons exercising the profession on an individual basis to group together. Veterinary surgeons use diagnostic radiology devices for purposes similar to those used in human medicine. Veterinary diagnostic radiology activities essentially concern pets: ∙some 5,000 veterinary facilities in France have at least one radiology device; ∙about 145 computed tomography scanners are used in veterinary applications; ∙other medical practices are also carried out in specialised centres: scintigraphy, brachytherapy, external beam radiotherapy and interventional radiology. The treatment of large animals (mainly horses) requires the use of more powerful devices installed in specially equipped premises (radiography of the pelvis, for example) and portable X-ray generators, used indoors – whether in dedicated premises or not – or outdoors. In order to better ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, ASN (which became ASNR on 1 January 2025 following a merger with ISRN) introduced a notification system in 2009 for what were termed “pet-care activities” involving less serious radiation risks (see point 2.4.2). This simplification has led to regularisation of the administrative situation of a growing number of veterinary facilities (see Graph 4). GRAPH 2 Use of unsealed radioactive sources by end-purpose 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Teaching Calibration Use of tracers Research 13 49 84 112 120 0 1 1 1 1 2 7 9 15 17 0 4 9 11 15 Number of facilities licensed or registered 2021 Licences 2022 Licences 2023 Licences 2024 Licences 2025 Licences Registrations The figures in red correspond to the number of registrations out of the total number of sealed radioactive sources. ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025 235 01 05 02 06 03 04 09 10 07 11 13 08 12 A / Z
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