LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT The inspectors also noted that the efforts made by the companies to train newly-arrived classified workers had been maintained. Consequently, in 2025 this information was duly dispensed to the new staff in 94% of the inspected facilities concerned. Furthermore, although no inspections revealed noncompliance with the licence issued by ASNR concerning the radionuclides or maximum activity held, companies must nevertheless be more thorough in checking that their inventory of sealed radioactive sources is consistent with the national inventory held by ASNR (inconsistencies were found in 10% of the inspected companies). Areas for improvement Despite a slight improvement since 2023, ASNR still considers that the deviations observed in cordoning off the work zones on worksites (found in one inspection in five) give cause for concern. In addition, and to the same extent, the specific luminous signs for gamma radiography were not present. ASNR underlines that the lack of preparation and cooperation between the ordering customers and the radiography contractors before starting worksites is one of the causes of these deviations. Thus, nearly half the inspections found deviations concerning the prevention plan (for example: no plan, operators unaware of the plan, plan not available on the worksite, or shortcomings in the content). ASNR points out that the work area must be cordoned off before the work begins and, in all events, before the radiography equipment is installed, that the cordoning off must be continuous and that it is essential to have warning lights in sufficient quantity. To ascertain that cordoning off ensures compliance with the effective dose integrated over one hour set by the regulations, it is vital for the operators to have the necessary tools to verify that the equivalent dose rate outside the work zone is that which is expected (deviations observed in one in five inspections), more specifically by taking one or more measurements with a functional measuring instrument whose calibration has been verified (deviations observed in one in ten inspections), and recording the results. Demarcating and cordoning off effectively constitute the main safety barrier in worksite conditions, particularly to prevent unintended exposures. Consequently, ASNR remains extremely vigilant regarding this point, which is systematically checked during worksite inspections. Moreover, penal enforcement actions have already been proposed for serious breaches. The recurrence of the deviations observed in the last few years in cordoning off the work zone induced ASN to address a circular letter to the profession as a whole in 2021, asking for tightened vigilance in this respect; this letter remains entirely relevant. ASNR also points out that in the case of gamma radiography, it is vital to approach a measuring device to the projector in order to check that the radioactive source is effectively in the safe position. It is still found too frequently (in nearly one in four inspections of worksites in 2024) that this check is either not carried out or does not go right up to the tip of the projector (where the guide tube is connected to the projector), which could lead to significant exposures of the operators in the event of an equipment failure. Furthermore, although the vehicle in which the gamma radiography equipment was transported was generally properly equipped with the required signage (only one deviation noted) and the driver was HIGHLIGHT No. 7 Gammagraphy: serious accidents abroad The number and consequences of gamma radiography accidents in France have remained limited since March 1979, when a worker had to have a leg amputated after having picked up a 518 Gigabecquerel (GBq) source of iridium-192 and put it in his pocket. This incident had led to a tightening of the regulations in effect at the time. This should not be taken for granted, as the two overexposure events reported to ASNR this year remind us. ASNR keeps a watchful eye on accidents occurring abroad which have sometimes had serious effects. Over the last few years (in 2024, no accidents have been reported to date), examples brought to ASNR’s attention confirming the risks to which operators can be exposed as a result of inappropriate actions, include: • In 2025, in Germany, a radiologist was exposed (to approximately 50 millisieverts – mSv – for the whole body) to a source of selenium-75. After carrying out the operation to return the source to the projector, he entered the installation and although the alarm on his operational dosimeter went off because of the ambient dose equivalent rate (the source had come loose from the remote control cable and was therefore present in the collimator), he nevertheless decided to cover the guide tube and the collimator with several lead mats (he is said to have remained 1 metre from the source for 10 seconds); * In 2023, in South Korea, a radiographer was exposed (116 millisieverts mSv for the whole body, 1,957 mSv to the hand) when manipulating a gamma ray projector whose irridium-192 source was no longer connected to the remote control cable. Owing to a lack of adequate radiation protection equipment, the radiographer did not notice the situation until the work was finished and the developed images were found to be overexposed. • In 2023 in Germany, a radiologist was exposed to a dose of 71.5 mSv after entering a facility when the electrical device emitting ionising radiation used in that facility was still in operation. The causes of the event are still being investigated. Another radiologist was exposed (230 mSv for the whole body, 546 mSv to the lens of the eye) when he placed his head in an X-ray beam for two minutes in order to align the part being X-rayed, despite the radiation protection measures in place (flagging tape, flashing signal light and audio warning from the active dosimeter). • In 2023 in the United States, a trainee radiographer was exposed several times to a source of iridium-192 on a worksite when carrying out various operations (replacement of the film, movement of the guide tube) while the source was still positioned in the irradiation endpiece due to the detachment of the source holder. In the course of this incident, several radiation protection barriers were not observed, notably by the lack of supervision of the trainee radiographer (particularly during the source holder connection phase), failure to wear a dosimeter or use a radiation meter and verify that the source had returned properly into the projector (check of the indicator light, measurements, etc.). The trainee radiographer only noticed the problem when the guide tube became disconnected from the source projector. The dosimetric reconstruction (as no dosimeter was worn) gave an effective received dose estimate of 75 mSv and 258 mSv at the extremities. • In 2022 in the United States, a team of three operators of a non-destructive testing company was performing gamma radiography work. One of the operators was close to the cobalt-60 source when it was ejected by his colleague who did not have direct visual contact with him. Given the very noisy environment of the worksite, the operator did not hear the alarm of his monitoring devices and was exposed to a dose of 55 mSv for about one minute. • In 2022 in Belgium, a radiographer was exposed (14 mSv whole body, extremity dose not specified) to a selenium-75 source for a short period (60 to 90 seconds) when he tried to disconnect the device collimator while the source was still present in it. The alarm of his active dosimeter did not function because its battery was discharged; furthermore, the operator was not wearing his radiation meter. It was the triggering of his assistant’s active dosimeter alarm when he approached the source that signalled the incident. • In 2022 in Hungary, an operator was exposed to about 134 mSv when handling the collimator and the guide tube, as the selenium-75 source was not retracted into the safe position in the projector. The data for earlier incidents can be consulted in the previous issues of this annual report, which are available on regulation-oversight. asnr.fr, under the headings “Infomation”, “Publications”, “ASNR’s annual reports”. 248 ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NjQ0NzU=