A new Strategic Plan(1) for ASN which takes account of a changing context The year 2022 was marked by ASN’s adoption of a new five-year Strategic Plan. After a decade that could be characterised as “post-Fukushima”, new long-term prospects are emerging for the nuclear sector. They are primarily driven by the need to accelerate the decarbonisation of the economy and by sovereignty issues. This new context is accompanied by innovations and initiatives to develop new types of reactors, which are forcing the regulators to take a fresh look at how they work together. Safety questions will lie at the heart of the debate and will need ASN to be able to explain matters and ensure that the safety and radiation protection issues are anticipated by all stakeholders, both for new constructions and for the continued operation of the reactors, management of the “fuel cycle”, or waste management, in the nuclear system taken as a whole. The new prospects will make it even more necessary for ASN to cultivate consultation and pluralism and, in addition to its oversight and regulation duties, to contribute to the development of a safety and radiation protection culture within the population. In the coming period, ASN will have to work on an unprecedented number of new facility applications in recent years, while remaining mobilised on the facilities in operation or being decommissioned, as well as on medical, industrial and transport of radioactive substances activities. 1. The 2023-2027 multi-year strategic plan is available on french-nuclear-safety.fr. In this general context, ASN has defined four points that will underpin its strategy for the next five years: 1/ state and share its short-, medium- and long-term vision of the challenges relating to nuclear safety, radiation protection and environmental protection, for the nuclear system as a whole; 2/ enhance knowledge of the risks and, together with the other stakeholders concerned, promote a safety and radiation protection culture to meet the expectations and demands of society; 3/ adapt our regulation and oversight to a new context, reaffirming our refocusing on high-stakes activities and installations and reinforcing our project management actions; 4/ and finally, make a success of the internal transformations in order to be more attractive and efficient. Faced with these challenges, ASN will need additional and appropriate resources, along with a greater capability for independent management of these resources, in a manner comparable to its counterparts abroad. n ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 7 Editorial by the Commission
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