LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT ∙detect an actual or attempted malicious act (theft in particular) as early as possible; ∙take action or alert the local law enforcement agencies after preparing their on-site actions; ∙raise awareness, inform, and regularly train the personnel in the issue; ∙periodically check the effectiveness of the equipment and organise exercises. For obvious reasons of restricting access to sensitive information, some of the provisions of this Order, detailed in its appendices, were not published in the Official Journal. ASN therefore, within its area of competence, sent the relevant appendices by personalised letter to each of the RNAs concerned. ASN also accompanied the publishing of the Order by actions in the regions at professional events between 2020 and 2022 and by holding ad hoc meetings with professionals concerned. To help with the understanding of this Order, which introduced a new regulatory field that is little known to the RNAs, two important documents have also been produced: ∙a guide produced jointly by ASN/SHFDS (Service of the Defence and Security High Official) so that professionals and inspectors alike have a common understanding of the requirements of the Order; ∙a guide on assessing the break-in resistance of opening elements: doors, shutters, windows, etc. Nowadays, professional reference systems and standards addressing protection against malicious acts enable this aspect to be covered satisfactorily from the technical viewpoint. However, the majority of the facilities concerned were built at a time when little consideration was given to the question of malicious acts. Based on the work of Directorate for Nuclear Defence and Security Expertise (DEND), which has an office specialised in the physical protection of facilities, a guide assigning a number of points to the leaves, locks and hinges of an opening element enables it to be given an overall rating and decide whether it complies with the requirements of the appendices of the Order. The forms used to apply for authorisation to exercise a nuclear activity have moreover been adapted, and two dedicated forms have been created for the category A, B or C sources or batches of sources. Lastly, to supplement the information for professionals, a brochure intended for RNAs who only possess category D sources (for which the number of regulatory obligations is limited) is also available on asnr.fr. The year 2025 was marked by the publication of ASNR resolution 2025-DC-011 of 28 March 2025, approved on 17 July 2025. Pursuant to Article R. 1333–146 of the Public Health Code, this resolution introduces a licensing system for the transport of the most highly radioactive sources, in addition to the current notification system, in view of the security issues associated with protection against malicious acts. This resolution: ∙requires a licence for operations involving the carriage, on public highways in France, of radioactive sources or batches of sources in category A, B or C; ∙makes the transport of radioactive substances (with the exception of exempted packages) that fall under neither the licensing system nor the exemption (i.e. Category D radioactive sources); ∙repeals the previous ASN resolution. 2015-DC-0503 of 12 March 2015, which required transport operations to be declared. This regulatory oversight is stricter than that previously in force and aligns the administrative regime with that already in force for companies carrying out own-account transport in connection with their activities involving the possession or use of category A, B or C radioactive sources or batches of equivalent sources (e.g. gamma radiography companies). It consists of a prior documentary check to ensure that the regulations have been properly taken into account before the transport is carried out. The new authorisation requirement has been in force since 1 January 2026. At the end of 2025, ASNR issued the first licences for road carriage involving Category A, B or C radioactive sources or batches of sources, and will carry out the first inspections from 2026. 2.4 Licensing, registration and notification of ionising radiation sources used for industrial, research or veterinary purposes 2.4.1 – Integration of the principles of radiation protection in the regulation of non-medical activities With regard to radiation protection, ASNR verifies application of the three major principles governing radiation protection which are written into the Public Health Code (Article L. 1333‑2): justification, optimisation of exposure and dose limitation. Assessment of the expected benefit of a nuclear activity and the corresponding health drawbacks may lead to prohibition of an activity for which the benefit does not seem to outweigh the risk. Either generic prohibition is declared, or the licence required for radiation protection purposes is not issued or is not extended. For the existing activities, the elements supporting implementation of the justification principle are recorded in writing by the RNA, and are updated every five years and whenever there is a significant change in available knowledge or techniques. Optimisation is a notion that must be considered in the technical and economic context, and it requires a high level of involvement of the professionals. ASNR considers in particular that the suppliers of devices are at the core of the optimisation approach (see point 4). They are effectively responsible for putting the devices on the market and must therefore design them such that the exposure of the future users is minimised. ASNR also checks application of the principle of optimisation when examining the licence applications, when conducting its inspections, and when analysing reported Significant Events for Radiation Protection (ESRs). 2.4.2 – The licensing, registration and notification systems Applications relating to the possession and utilisation of ionising radiation are examined by the ASNR regional divisions, while those concerning the manufacture and supply of sources or devices containing sources are examined at the ASNR head office by the Department of Transport and Sources (DTS). The entry into effect on 1 July 2018 of Decree 2018-434 of 4 June 2018, introducing various provisions in the nuclear field, has introduced a third administrative system lying between the notification system and the licensing system: it is a simplified authorisation system called the “registration system”. ASN has prepared a classification system to allocate the various categories of nuclear activities to one of these three systems, whose implementation began on 1 January 2019 with the entry into effect of the ASN resolution extending the notification system to additional nuclear activities which until then were subject to licensing, and continued on 1 July 2021 with the entry into effect of the resolution concerning the registration system. The licensing system Small-scale nuclear activities in the industrial sector stand out by their considerable diversity and the large number of licensees involved. The licensing system is designed to regulate the nuclear activities involving the greatest radiation protection implications, for which ASNR checks, when examining the licence application, that the applicant has identified the risks and that the measures intended to limit their effects have been studied and planned for. To support 242 ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
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