the public and private research programmers. ASN is continuing to reinforce its relations with the research organisations and the institutions in charge of programming and funding research at both national and European levels. ASN takes part in the steering committee for the “Nuclear safety and radiation protection research” (RSNR) Call for Projects issued in 2013 by the National Research Agency (ANR) as part of the Investing in the Future programme, for which funding came to an end in 2023. This action ended on 31 December 2024. An ANR summary of the results of this action will be sent to ASNR in the first half of 2025. Since 1 January 2025 and the creation of ASNR, several areas of intervention which were previously the remit of IRSN, have been added to the range of missions and competences of the new safety Authority. Conducting research ASNR defines multi-disciplinary research programmes, conducted internally or in partnership with other French or foreign research organisations. The research carried out by ASNR is in two main areas: maintaining and developing the knowledge and skills needed for expert assessment in the various fields of nuclear safety and radiation protection and progressing fundamental knowledge, notably to understand the effects of ionising radiation on health and the environment. Expert assessment ASNR assesses the safety of civil nuclear facilities at each step in their lifecycle, from design to decommissioning. ASNR also evaluates the hazards for human health and the environment linked to the use of ionising radiation. It takes part in the permanent radiation protection watch, notably through radiological monitoring of the environment, managing and analysing dosimetric data concerning workers exposed to ionising radiation and analysing patients’ dosimetry data. Training ASNR proposes a wide range of nuclear safety and radiation protection training courses for professionals using ionising radiation in their activities. It thus contributes to maintaining a high level of expertise in nuclear safety and radiation protection and helps improve prevention and protection against the dangers of ionising radiation. Developing a radiation protection culture among the general public One of the roles of ASNR is to contribute to developing a radiation protection culture among the general public, in other words the ability of the public to adopt appropriate behaviour and responses to an accident situation. 2.3.2 Organisation ASN Commission The ASN Commission comprises five full-time Commissioners. Their mandate is for a period of six years and is not renewable. The Commissioners perform their duties in complete impartiality and receive no instructions from either the Government or any other person or institution. The President of the Republic may terminate the duties of any member of the Commission in the event of a serious breach of his or her obligations. The Commission defines ASN’s strategy. More specifically, it is involved in developing overall policy, i.e. the doctrines and principles that underpin ASN’s main missions of regulation, inspection, transparency, management of emergency situations and international relations. Pursuant to the Environment Code, the Commission submits ASN’s opinions to the Government and issues the main ASN regulations and decisions. It decides on the public position to be adopted on the main issues within ASN’s sphere of competence. It adopts the ASN internal rules of procedure which set out its organisation and working rules, as well as its ethical guidelines (see page 137). The Commission’s decisions and opinions are published in ASN’s Official Bulletin. In 2024, the ASN Commission met 47 times. It issued 22 opinions and 20 decisions. Administrative Enforcement Committee “Nuclear” Ordinance 2016-128 of 10 February 2016 created the ASN Administrative Enforcement Committee (Articles L. 592-41 to L. 592-44 of the Environment Code). It was set up on 19 October 2021. The creation of this Committee supplements the arsenal of enforcement measures available to ASN. When referred to by the ASN Commission, it has the power to issue administrative fines on the licensees of BNIs, those responsible for the transport of radioactive substances or NPE, or indeed those Responsible for Nuclear Activities (RNAs) regulated by the Public Health Code. Its independence is guaranteed by law. The Committee comprises four regular members, two State advisers appointed by the Vice-President of the Council of State and two advisers from the Cour de cassation (Court of Cassation) appointed by the first President of the Cour de cassation. It also comprises alternate members. The duration of the members’ mandate is six years. At their first meeting, on 19 October 2021, the regular members elected Mr. Maurice Meda as Chairman of the Committee for the next three years. They also adopted the internal rules of procedure which were published in the Official Journal on 5 November 2021 and in the ASN Official Bulletin the following 8 November. The annual information exchange meeting between the members of the Administrative Enforcement Committee, the ASN Commission and the ASN General Directorate was held on 8 January 2024. As set out by law, the Committee will meet exclusively when convened by the ASN Commission. This latter may decide to open a procedure leading to issue of a fine after clearly determining that the person responsible for nuclear activities has not complied with a formal notice, in other words has not taken the measures required by this formal notice. The fines will be proportional to the seriousness of the observed breaches and in particular take into account the extent of the impact on the environment. The maximum amount of the fines is set by law at 10 million euros, in the event of a breach of the provisions applicable to BNIs, one million euros for a breach of the provisions applicable to NPE, €30,000 in the field of transport of radioactive substances, and €15,000 for small-scale nuclear activities. The administrative fine issue procedure includes compliance with the adversarial principle. No penalty can be imposed without the party concerned or their representative having been heard or summoned. The Committee’s decision may be made public. The decisions pronounced by the Administrative Enforcement Committee may be referred to the administrative jurisdiction (Council of State) by the person concerned, by the ASN Chairman or by the third parties. Creation of a new organisation of the head office departments The ASN head office departments (until 31 December 2024) comprise an Executive Committee, a General Secretariat, a Management and Expertise Office, an Oversight Support Office, a delegation in charge of innovative reactors, and nine departments covering specific themes. Under the authority of the ASN Director General, the Executive Committee organises and manages the departments on a day to day basis. It ensures that the orientations determined by the Commission are followed and that ASN’s actions are effective. It oversees and coordinates the various entities. The role of the departments is to manage national affairs concerning the activities under their responsibility. They take part in defining the general regulations and coordinate and oversee the actions of the ASN regional divisions: ∙The Nuclear Power Plants Department is in charge of overseeing nuclear reactors, whether high or intermediate power, planned, under construction or in operation, using a PWR technology for industrial purposes or as an experimental prototype. Oversight concerns the technical but also the organisational and human aspects of ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 131 The principles of nuclear safety and radiation protection and the regulation and oversight stakeholders 02 01 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 AP
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