Abstracts ASN Report 2019

The Act also makes provision for interim measures to safeguard security and public health and safety or protect the environment. ASN can therefore: Ҋ provisionally suspend operation of a BNI, immediately notifying the Ministers responsible for nuclear safety, in the event of any serious and imminent risk; Ҋ at all times require assessments and implementation of the necessary measures in the event of a threat to the abovementioned interests; Ҋ take decisions to temporarily or definitively revoke the administrative title (authorisation and soon registration) issued to the party responsible for the nuclear activity, after having informed the party concerned that it is entitled to submit observations within a given time, in order to comply with the exchange of views procedure. The texts also make provision for criminal infringements. This will for example be non-compliance with the provisions concerning the protection of workers exposed to ionising radiation, non- compliance with formal notice served by ASN, performance of a nuclear activity without the required administrative authorisation, non-compliance with the provisions of ASN resolutions or decisions, or irregular management of radioactive waste. Any infringements observed are written up in reports by the nuclear safety and radiation protection inspectors and transmitted to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, that decides on what subsequent action, if any, is to be taken. The Environment Code and its implementing decrees make provision for criminal penalties with regard to the infringement or offence: a fine or even a term of imprisonment (up to ҫӄӈӃёӃӃӃׇĴŁķ ŇĻŅĸĸ ŌĸĴŅņ ļŁ ŃŅļņłŁҏё ķĸŃĸŁķļŁĺ łŁ ŇĻĸ ŁĴŇňŅĸ łĹ ŇĻĸ ļŁĹŅļŁĺĸŀĸŁŇє łŅ ĿĸĺĴĿ ŃĸŅņłŁņ ĹłňŁķ Ňł ĵĸ ĶŅļŀļŁĴĿĿŌ liable, the amount of the fine can reach €10M, depending on the infringement in question and the actual prejudice to the interests ŀĸŁŇļłŁĸķ ļŁ ŅŇļĶĿĸ єׇӈӌӆіӄє The Public Health Code makes provision for criminal penalties ļŁ ŅŇļĶĿĸņ єׇӄӆӆӊіӈׇŇł єׇӄӆӆӊіӌѓ ŇĻĸņĸ ĶłŁņļņŇ łĹ Ĵ ĹļŁĸ łĹ ĹŅłŀ ҫӆёӊӈӃ Ňł ҫӄӈёӃӃӃׇĴŁķ Ĵ ŇĸŅŀ łĹ ļŀŃŅļņłŁŀĸŁŇ łĹ ņļŋ ŀłŁŇĻņ Ňł one year, depending on the gravity of the infringement, with additional penalties being possible for legal persons. Class-5 penalties (fines) are stipulated in the field of nuclear ņĴĹĸŇŌ ĹłŅ ļŁĹŅļŁĺĸŀĸŁŇņ ŀĸŁŇļłŁĸķ ļŁ ŅŇļĶĿĸ єׇӈӌӉіӄӉׇłĹ ŇĻĸ Environment Code, as well as in the field of radiation protection ĵŌ ĸĶŅĸĸ ӅӃӄӋіӇӆӇׇłĹ Ӈׇ ňŁĸ ӅӃӄӋׇĶłŁņŇļŇňŇļŁĺ ʼnĴŅļłňņ ŁňĶĿĸĴŅ ŃŅłʼnļņļłŁņ Ҏ ŅŇļĶĿĸ єׇӄӆӆӊіӄӇіӅׇŇł ӈׇłĹ ŇĻĸ ňĵĿļĶ ĸĴĿŇĻ łķĸҏё notably with regard to non-compliance with the requirements for notification of a significant event, the administrative system (transmission of the title application file, compliance with general requirements, information concerning changes to the Radiation Protection Advisor). In the field of pressure equipment, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter VII of Title V of Book V of the Environment Code, which apply to high-risk products and equipment, including pressure equipment, ASN –which is in charge of monitoring these items in BNIs– has powers of enforcement and sanction against licensees. These provisions in particular enable it to order the payment of a fine, plus an additional daily payment applicable until such time as compliance with the formal notice is effective. This Chapter also includes provisions applicable to the manufacturers, importers and distributors of such equipment, aiming to ban the marketing, commissioning or continued operation of an equipment item and to serve the licensee with formal notice to take all steps necessary to ensure conformity with the legislative and regulatory provisions applicable to its activity. In the performance of their duties in NPPs, the ASN labour inspectors have at their disposal all the inspection, decision- making and enforcement resources of ordinary law inspectors ҎŃňŅņňĴŁŇ Ňł ŅŇļĶĿĸ єׇӋӄӄӄіӄӄׇłĹ ŇĻĸ ĴĵłňŅ łķĸҏє ĵņĸŅʼnĴŇļłŁё formal notice, administrative sanction, report, injunction (to obtain immediate cessation of the risks) or even stoppage of the works, offer the ASN labour inspectors a broad range of incentive and constraining measures. ה ِ ב א ׎׏ ژח ȸƺɀɖǼɎɀ ƬȒȇƬƺȸȇǣȇǕ ƺȇǔȒȸƬƺȅƺȇɎ ƏȇƳ ɀƏȇƬɎǣȒȇɀ As a result of infringements observed, the ASN inspectors (nuclear safety inspectors, for BNIs, the transport of radioactive substances or NPE, labour inspectors and radiation protection inspectors) transmitted twelve infringement reports to the public prosecutor’s offices, two of which concerned labour inspections in the NPPs. ASN served formal notice to BNI licensees and nuclear activity ŀĴŁĴĺĸŅņ łŁ Ĺļʼnĸ łĶĶĴņļłŁņє ĴĵĿĸ ӋׇņĻłŊņ ŇĻĸ ŁňŀĵĸŅ łĹ ŅĸŃłŅŇņ issued by the ASN inspectors since 2014. ڲ٫װ Outlook In 2020, ASN will continue to develop its oversight actions and aim to acquire greater knowledge of practices by field operators, notably through a greater number of inspections, comprising interviews. ASN will also be reinforcing its inspection presence by deploying changes to its NPP inspection method during reactor outage ŃĻĴņĸņ Ҏņĸĸ ĵłŋ ļŁ ĶĻĴŃŇĸŅ ӄӃׇѢ łʼnĸŅņļĺĻŇ łĹ ŅĸĴĶŇłŅ łňŇĴĺĸņѣҏє The development of digital tools to help the inspectors, which ķĸŀĴŁķĸķ ĶłŁņļķĸŅĴĵĿĸ ŀĴŁіĻłňŅņ ļŁ ӅӃӄӌё ŊļĿĿ ĵĸ ĶłŁŇļŁňļŁĺё notably with the Siance project (see box point 3). ASN will continue to experiment with different inspection ŃŅĴĶŇļĶĸņё ŃĴŅŇĿŌ ļŀŃĿĸŀĸŁŇĸķ ĵŌ łŇĻĸŅ ŅĸŁĶĻ łŅ ĹłŅĸļĺŁ inspection organisations. ļŁĴĿĿŌё ļŁ ӅӃӅӃё ŊļĿĿ ĸʼnĸŁ ŀłŅĸ ĶĿłņĸĿŌ ĸŋĴŀļŁĸ ŇĻĸ irregularities that can be considered to be fraud, and the implementation of detection, processing and prevention measures by those in charge of nuclear activities or taking part in the subcontracting chain will need to be effective. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2019 161 03 ׎ ٲ ב REGULATION OF NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES AND EXPOSURE TO IONISING RADIATION