On 25 October 2022, the ASN regional division of Lyon brought together about a hundred therapeutic radiotherapy and nuclear medicine professionals for a day of discussions on team work and safe treatment of patients in a context of change (of organisation, equipment and techniques). 1.2.2 A platform to facilitate on-line procedures The regulatory procedures are gradually undergoing their digital transformation on the on-line services portal at asn.fr. ASN thus aims to facilitate the procedures for professionals, which helps to promote the culture of safety. Twelve declaration and notification forms were already available (including the declarations for possessing devices and sources and reporting events in the transport of dangerous goods). As of 1 July 2021, entry into effect of the new simplified authorisation system – the registration system – has been accompanied by the placing on line of 12 new registration application forms available to nuclear activity supervisors in the industrial, medical, veterinary and research sectors. ASN was thus able to introduce a dematerialised procedure as soon as the new regulations came into effect. 1.2.3 A bulletin for sharing good practices The Patient safety – Paving the way for progress bulletin was created in March 2011 to disseminate the lessons learned from significant radiation protection events to medical professionals. Since July 2019 it alternates between subjects devoted to radiotherapy, diagnostic medical imaging (conventional, computed tomography scanning and nuclear medicine) and to FGIPs. Produced by multidisciplinary working groups coordinated by ASN, the newsletter offers a thematic presentation of the good practices of medical departments and the recommendations developed by the learned societies of the discipline concerned and the health and radiation protection institutions. An error in the calibration of a linear particle accelerator formed the subject of an Experience Feedback report in April 2022. A bulletin is to be published in March 2023 on the control of medical interventional radiology devices. These publications are available on asn.fr. 1.3 The media ASN maintains regular relations with the regional, national and foreign media throughout the year. Each year, the ASN spokespersons respond to more than 500 press requests and give some twenty local and national press conferences. The 2. In accordance with Article L. 592-32 of the Environment Code. year 2022 was marked primarily by the debates concerning the nuclear policy in France and the state of safety of the nuclear fleet: the stress corrosion problems, the continued operation of the reactors and the management of radioactive waste. The regional conferences provided local information for the media on the latest news of the oversight of the facilities, the risk culture and how it is integrated by the population. ASN also maintains relations with the medical press on the subjects of patient and medical personnel radiation protection. Each year at the time of the publication of its annual Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France, ASN meets regional press journalists. In 2022, due to the pandemic, ASN held regional video conferences between late May and midSeptember which brought together 80 journalists. At these meetings, the ASN regional divisions report on ASN’s assessment of the safety of the facilities in the regions. The current regional news in the area of radiation protection is addressed, whether it concerns the medical and industrial sectors, sites contaminated by radioactive substances, population exposure to radon, or former mining sites, etc. Lastly, ASN has a duty to inform the public in the event of an emergency situation(2). In order to prepare for this, ASN staff receive specific training and take part in emergency exercises. Emergency exercises are held each year, with simulated media pressure from journalists designed to test ASN’s responsiveness to the media, as well as the consistency and quality of the messages put across by the various players, both nationally and locally (see chapter 4). Since 2011, the social media have been integrated in the “media pressure simulation” of the emergency exercises. 1.4 Elected officials and institutional bodies Each year, ASN presents its annual Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France to the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices (OPECST). This report, which constitutes the reference document on the state of the activities regulated by ASN, is also submitted to the President of the Republic, to the Government and to Parliament. It is sent out to more than 2,000 addressees: heads of administrative authorities, elected officials, licensees and persons/entities in charge of regulated activities or installations, associations, professional unions and learned societies, etc. 1 • LA SÉCURITÉ DU PATIENT • Rayonnements ionisants : limiter les expositions des femmes ignorant leur grossesse POUR UNE DYNAMIQUE DE PROGRÈS LA SÉCURITÉ DU PATIENT # RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS : LIMITER LES EXPOSITIONS DES FEMMES IGNORANT LEUR GROSSESSE Bulletin à l’attention des demandeurs et réalisateurs d’actes médicaux utilisant les rayonnements ionisants Conseil National professionnel de radiologie et imagerie médicale (G4) AUTORITÉ DE SÛRETÉ NUCLÉAIRE Septembre 2021 POUR UNE DYNAMIQUE DE PROGRÈS LA SÉCURITÉ DU PATIENT # LE SUIVI DES PATIENTS À LA SUITE D’INCIDENTS DE RADIOTHÉRAPIE BILAN DES 10 ANS DE L’ÉCHELLE ASN-SFRO Bulletin à l’attention des professionnels de la radiothérapie AUTORITÉ DE SÛRETÉ NUCLÉAIRE Octobre 2021 Patient safety newsletters published in September and October 2021 THE SUBJECTS THAT FOCUS MEDIA ATTENTION A number of subjects received particular attention from the media and the public opinion in 2022: the stress corrosion cracks detected on a number of reactors, the Flamanville Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) construction site and the problems of welds, the fourth periodic safety review of the 900 Megawatts electric (MWe) reactors, the revival of nuclear power and the continued operation of the Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) the projects to build new reactors, the needs for skills in the nuclear sector, the management of waste, thermal discharges from certain NPPs during heatwave periods, the safety of nuclear installations in wartime, linked to the Ukrainian situation. The incidents that occurred on certain nuclear sites (Chooz, Civaux) also interested the local media. With regard to current events in the medical sector, the press focused more particularly on dose optimisation, especially in the area of nuclear medicine, and exposure to radon. 186 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 • 05 • Informing the public 05
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