- 7 - ASN, with the technical support of IRSN and its advisory committees, devotes particular attention to rigorous regulation of safety. In accordance with the law, it ensures continuous improvement of safety in French civil nuclear facilities, through the process of periodic safety reviews and the incorporation of operating experience feedback. Every year, ASN performs more than 700 inspections in the French civil nuclear facilities. These inspections are by means of spot-checks and by analysis of the proof of regulatory compliance provided by the licensee. In addition to this continuous monitoring, the licensees are required under ASN oversight to periodically review (generally every ten years) the safety of their facilities, in accordance with part III of article 29 of the TSN Act. The ten-yearly periodic safety review is an opportunity for a detailed inspection of the conformity of the facility with its own nuclear safety requirements. Its aim is also to make changes to the facility in order to improve its level of safety and as far as possible comply with the requirements applicable to the most recent facilities. The safety review enables ASN to assess the possibility of continuing with operation of the facility up until the next ten-yearly periodic safety review. ASN also examines anomalies occurring in the nuclear facilities. It ensures that the licensee has made a pertinent analysis of the event, has taken appropriate steps to correct the situation and prevent a reoccurrence, and has sent out operating experience feedback. ASN and IRSN also conduct an overall examination of experience feedback about events. This feedback can result in requests to improve the condition of the facilities and the organisation adopted by the licensee, but also in changes to the technical regulations. Operating experience feedback includes those events occurring in France and abroad with pertinence for enhancing nuclear safety or radiation protection. Finally, ASN is heavily committed to relations with its foreign counterparts, whether bilateral, European union or international level. ASN is developing active bilateral cooperation (more than 20 cooperation agreements with its counterparts); it is a member of several nuclear safety and radiation protection Regulatory Bodies. In compliance with the provisions of the TSN Act and at the request of the Government, ASN also takes part in the French representation to the international and European organisations in charge of nuclear safety and radiation protection. 5. ASN's sanctions powers In certain situations where the licensee's actions are not in conformity with the regulations or the legislation, or when it is important for it to take appropriate action to deal immediately with the most important risks, ASN has a number of means of action at its disposal. In the event of failure to comply with the regulations, its available tools are primarily: ASN official request to the licensee through an inspection follow-up letter; ASN formal notice to the licensee to regularise its administrative situation within a specified time, or meet certain stipulated conditions; administrative sanctions, pronounced after formal notice, which can go as far as temporary suspension of operation of the nuclear facility. The administrative sanctions are defined in articles 41 to 44 of the TSN Act: placing in the hands of a public accountant of a sum corresponding to the amount of the work to be performed; performance of the work by another party at the expense of the licensee (any sums previously placed with the public accountant can then be used to pay for this work); suspension of working of the facility or of a particular operation, until the licensee restores conformity.
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