LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT Smoke detectors containing radioactive sources Devices containing radioactive sources were used for several decades to detect smoke in buildings as part of the firefighting policy. Several types of radionuclides have been used (americium-241, plutonium-238 and radium-226). The activity of the most recent sources used does not exceed 37 kBq, and the structure of the detector, in normal use, prevents any release of radioactive substances into the environment. New non-ionising technologies have gradually been developed for this type of detection. Optical devices now provide comparable detection quality, and can therefore satisfy the regulatory and normative fire detection requirements. ASNR therefore considers that smoke detection devices using radioactive sources are no longer justified and that ionic smoke detectors must be replaced. The regulatory framework governing their withdrawal was put in place by the Order of 18 November 2011 and the two ASN resolutions 2011-DC-0252 and 2011-DC-0253 of 21 December 2011. This regulatory framework aimed at: ∙planning the removal of some 7 million Ionisation Chamber Smoke Detectors (ICSDs) from approximately 300,000 sites over ten years; ∙supervising the maintenance or removal operations, which necessitate certain precautions with regard to worker radiation protection; ∙preventing any uncontrolled removals and organising the collection operations in order to avoid detectors being directed to an inappropriate disposal route, or even simply being abandoned; ∙monitoring the pool of detectors. In this context, as at 31 December 2025, ASNR had issued 425 acknowledgements of notification and seven national licences (issued to industrial groups with a total of 66 agencies) for ICSD removal activities. Among these companies, five are authorised to perform ICSD decommissioning operations, thereby guaranteeing a disposal route for the existing detectors. In order to keep track of the pool of ICSDs, the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN – who became ASNR on 1 January 2025 after its fusion with ASN) set up in 2015, in collaboration with ASN, a computerised system enabling the professionals working in this sector (maintenance technicians, installers and removal companies) to file annual activity reports on line. The transmitted information is nevertheless not exhaustive enough to establish a reliable assessment. Although the removal operations have progressed over the last few years, not all the ICSDs have been removed by the deadline set in the Order of 18 November 2011, that is to say 5 December 2021. It is estimated that nearly one million ICSDs are still installed. It is considered that nearly 600,000 detectors have been removed since 2021. Faced with this situation, ASNR has been discussing with the professionals on continuing regulating the possession of such detectors and their removal and dismantling operations in order to complete the transition of all the fire detection devices to the optical technology, while at the same time allowing for safe disposal of the removed ICSDs and the radioactive sources they contain. ASNR has also continued discussions with other actors concerned by the removal of these devices, notably the Ministry of Energy Transition (MTE), in order to study the various possible regulatory options. These reflections have not resulted in new regulatory provisions, but this does not call into question the removal and dismantling operations governed by the notifications, registrations or licences issued by ASNR, which enables the removal of the ionic detectors to continue, which remains the desired aim. The deadline of 5 December 2021 indicated in the abovementioned Order led to an increase in removal operations at the end of 2021. Since then, the removal operations are continuing and the number of ICSDs remaining is gradually decreasing. ASNR continues to maintain close relations with Qualdion, an association created in 2011 which labels the companies that comply with the regulations relative to radiation protection and fire safety. The list of Qualdion-labelled companies is available on the Internet. Surge suppressors Surge suppressors (sometimes called lightning arresters), not to be confused with lightning conductors, are small objects with a very low level of radioactivity used to protect telephone lines against voltage surges in the event of lightning strike. These are sealed devices, often made of glass or ceramic, enclosing a small volume of air containing radionuclides to pre-ionise the air and facilitate electrical sparkover. The use of surge suppressors has been gradually abandoned since the end of the 1970s, but the number remaining to be removed, collected and disposed of is still very high (several million units). When installed, these devices represent no risk of exposure for individuals. However, there can be a risk of exposure and/or contamination, albeit very low, if these objects are handled without precautions or if they are damaged. ASN issued a reminder to the company Orange (formerly France Télécom), which has begun an experimental process to identify, remove, sort and dispose of surge suppressors in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and has proposed a national removal and disposal plan. This plan was presented to ASN, and led in September 2015 to the issuing of a licence governing the removal of all surge suppressors containing radionuclides present on the Orange network in France and their interim storage on identified sites. This licence was renewed in 2021. The search for a disposal route is in progress in collaboration with the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra). This progressively implemented removal and disposal plan was completed in 2024. Lastly, Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE), the French power transmission utility, has also filed an application for a licence in order to start a national plan for removal of the surge arresters installed on its network. A national licence regulating these surge arrester removal operations and their interim storage on specified sites was issued to RTE late 2022. As with Orange, RTE is working with Andra to find a disposal route. Additional characterisations are going to begin, with the aim more specifically of determining whether or not occluded gases are present in the surge arresters (gases which could be present from the manufacturing stage in certain models) in order to subsequently determine the appropriate methods of dealing with these devices. Lightning conductors Radioactive lightning conductors were manufactured and installed in France between 1932 and 1986. The ban on the sale of radioactive lightning conductors was declared in 1987. This Order did not make the removal of installed radioactive lightning conductors compulsory. Consequently, there is no obligation at present to remove the radioactive lightning conductors installed in France, except in certain ICPEs (Order of 15 January 2008 which set the removal deadline at 1 January 2012) and in certain installations under Ministry of Defence responsibility (Order of 1 October 2007 which set a removal deadline at 1 January 2014). ASNR nevertheless considers it necessary for all existing radioactive lightning conductors to be removed and transferred to Andra, given the risks they can represent, depending in particular on their physical condition. For several years now ASNR has been working to raise professional awareness of the radiation risks for workers and the public. ASNR has stepped up its action in this respect by reminding the professionals of their obligations, particularly that of being licensed or registered by ASNR for the removal and storing of lightning conductors pursuant to Articles L. 1333-1 and 2, L. 1333-8 and R. 1333-104 of the Public Health Code. ASNR conducts field oversight operations targeting the companies involved in recovering these objects, combined with unannounced inspections on the removal sites. The number of lightning conductors installed in France was estimated at about 40,000 in the 1990’s. Slightly under 13,000 have already been removed and recovered by Andra. The current rate of removal is about 200 radioactive lightning conductors per year. ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025 239 01 05 02 06 03 04 09 10 07 11 13 08 12 A / Z
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