LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT HIGHLIGHT No. 5 Retrospective on the inspections relating to the protection of ionising radiation sources against malicious acts Since 2019, when ASN, and now ASNR, inspects facilities where sealed radioactive sources of category A, B or C are present, whether individually or in batches, it checks compliance with the regulations relative to the protection of sources against malicious acts. National administrative tracking indicators have been put in place. This administrative tracking has been adapted to take account of the gradual entry into effect of the requirements of the Order of 29 November 2019 amended; the number of indicators has therefore evolved in line with the entry into effect of these various requirements. In total, there are no more than 10 inspection items, depending on the activity: there are more technical devices for category A or B sources or batches than for category C sources or batches. Moreover, certain inspection items address transport vehicles which those Responsible for Nuclear Activity (RNAs) in the medical sector do not possess, as they prefer to subcontract transport operations to their source suppliers. In the industrial sector it can happen that the vehicle is not available on the day of the inspection or that the transport operation has been subcontracted. • Out of all the inspection items, four of them stem from obligations figuring in the non-published appendices of the Order of 29 November 2019 amended. As this is sensitive information, it cannot be addressed in a publication. • The figures compare the values for the years 2022 to 2024 with those recorded in 2025. From the summer of 2022, all the provisions of the amended Order of 29 November 2019 were applicable, and the associated inspection items were therefore completed. The figures for 2019 to 2021, considered old, are no longer taken into account. In 2025, 56 facilities were inspected for the protection of sources against malicious acts, including 36 in the industrial sector and 20 in the medical sector (an average of around 60 inspections a year have been carried out in this area since 2023). Classification of radioactive sources or batches of sources In 2025, 83% of the inspections performed in industrial facilities raised no comment on this point. This result is very slightly lower than the average value for the period 2022-2024 (85%). For medical facilities inspected in 2025, compliance is up (95%) on the previous year (87%), and is therefore slightly higher than in 2022 (92%) and 2023 (93%). It should also be noted that only one industrial site has not set up any classification of sources or batches of sources. As with 2024, this indicator has the highest compliance rate and the number of sites that have not yet classified their sources is therefore very small. In the latter case, this inevitably leads to significant nonconformities, since this evaluation is the basis for determining the technical provisions of the protection plan against malicious acts which has been applicable since 1 July 2022. Nominative authorisations These are delivered by the RNA to allow access to the sources, their carriage, or access to the information relating to the means or measures that protect them. In the industrial facilities inspected in 2025, 58% of the nominative licences issued raise no observations. This figure is higher than that for 2024 (49%), bringing it into line with those for 2022 (60%) and 2023 (59%). In the medical sector, only 45% of licences issued do not call for comment. This result is almost the same as that for 2024 (47%), and therefore still lower than the figures for 2022 (54%) and 2023 (53%). This requirement is, in principle, more difficult to meet in the medical sector than in the industrial sector, given the number of staff involved and the very nature of medical facilities, which are designed to receive members of the public. It should also be noted that a situation where no licence had been issued was again identified at a medical facility. Policy of protection against malicious acts This indicator provides an indication of management’s involvement in the change needed to ensure that all staff acquire a culture of security, including cyber security, which is by its very nature a lengthy process. A declaration of this kind signed by management is not sufficient in itself, but it should make it possible to initiate a process of acculturation to make all staff aware of the issue of malicious intent. In the industrial sector, 78% of establishments inspected comply with this obligation. The situation has improved compared with the previous year (71%), and has shown real progress since 2022 and 2023 (52% in both years). In the medical sector, only 45% of facilities were considered to be complying with this provision. This is down on the previous year (53%), but still higher than 2022 (31%) and 2023 (27%). Finally, out of six facilities inspected in 2025, including one in the industrial sector, one was encountered where no policy to combat malicious acts had been established. Identification and control of sensitive information In 2025, 61% of the industrial facilities inspected have a procedure for identifying and controlling sensitive information that raises no concerns and is correctly implemented. This figure has improved compared with that observed over the previous three years (an average of 48% over the 2022–2024 period). The medical sector has fallen behind compared to 2024 (47%), with only 40% of facilities having a suitable procedure in place this year. However, this figure is still an improvement on 2022 (31%) and 2023 (21%). Furthermore, four inspections in the industrial sector and four in the medical sector again an instance where no policy for identifying and controlling sensitive information had been implemented. Principle of barriers This inspection item relates to the identification and implementation, by the site manager, of barriers to protect access to sources. If this is not done, the RNA cannot make any effective reinforcements that might be necessary, which can result in additional delays and costs. 56% of the industrial sites inspected in 2025 are considered to have well- identified ‘barriers’. This figure is slightly lower than that observed for 2023 (60%) and 2024 (57%), but higher than in 2022 (41%). In the medical sector, 65% of the facilities inspected have ‘barriers’ that are well identified and implemented. This figure is an improvement on 2022, but the progress is irregular, with an average value of 50% over the period 2022-2024. It should be noted that one inspected medical sector facility did not identify the barriers to be put in place. Maintenance of technical protection systems The systems adopted to protect against malicious acts necessitate the installation of detectors forming part of a chain of components allowing surveillance of the site. This electronic equipment requires maintenance to prevent failures. It is therefore vital to establish a verification programme and comply with it. In the industrial sector, 50% of inspected facilities implement a comprehensive programme, a figure that has been rising since 2022 (38% on average for the period 2022–2024). In the medical sector, a higher proportion of sites than in the industrial sector were found to have a comprehensive maintenance plan that was properly implemented (60%). This figure has been rising since 2022, but in a discontinuous manner, with an average value of 37% over the period 2022-2024. In the industrial sector, 28% of the facilities inspected do not implement such a policy at all. The figure for the medical sector is 30%. In conclusion, only the classification of radioactive sources or batches of radioactive sources reaches a satisfactory level for the year 2025 (88% compliance), followed by the policy of protection against malicious acts and the identification and implementation of barriers, indicators for which roughly two-thirds of the inspected sites are compliant. The other three inspection items have a compliance rate just above the average (54%), so there is still plenty of room for improvement. The inspection item where the greatest progress needs to be made is the maintenance of technical protection devices, where just under a third (29%) of the sites inspected do not implement any preventive maintenance programme. 1 2 3 6 5 4 246 ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
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