IONISOS IRRADIATOR The company Ionisos operates two industrial ionisation installations on the sites of Pouzauges (Vendée département) and Sablé‑sur‑Sarthe (Sarthe département) respectively, which use high-activity cobalt-60 sealed radioactive sources. These installations constitute Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs) 146 and 154 respectively. The gamma radiation emitted is used for sterilisation purposes or to reinforce (by cross-linking) the technical properties of certain polymers, by exposing the products to be ionised (single-use medical equipment, packaging, raw materials and finished products for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, packing films) for a pre-determined length of time. Each installation comprises a pool for underwater storage of the radioactive sources, surmounted by a bunker in which the ionisation operations are performed, premises for storing the products before and after treatment, and offices and technical rooms. ASN considers that the level of nuclear safety of operation of the Pouzauges and Sablé‑sur‑Sarthe irradiators is stable compared with the preceding year. Consequently, in 2024 the licensee renewed and reorganised the teams responsible for safety following several concomitant personnel departures in 2023 which had weakened its organisation. The new organisation is now in place and in September 2024 the licensee submitted to ASN an action plan to ensure the facility’s conformity with the BNI regulations. In 2025, the Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR) will be attentive to the fulfilling and completion of the various commitments made by the licensee, who must prioritise them appropriately and apply requirements compatible with the safety risks of the facilities. The licensee submitted two noteworthy modification applications for the Pouzauges site in 2024: one to prolong the use of the sources beyond ten years, the other to modify the pool’s demineralised water make-up tank. A noteworthy modification application was also submitted for the Sablé-sur-Sarthe site to prolong the use of the radioactive sources. Lastly, a modification of the safety baseline requirements was approved in May 2024. Pays de la Loire The Nantes division regulates nuclear safety, radiation protection and the transport of radioactive substances in the 5 départements of the Pays de la Loire region. 56 inspections In 2024, ASN carried out 56 inspections, comprising three in the facilities of the company Ionisos in the municipalities of Pouzauges and Sablé‑sur‑Sarthe (two on the theme of nuclear safety and one on radioactive substance transport), three concerning approved organisations in radon measurements and 50 in small-scale nuclear activities (20 in the medical sector, 29 in the industrial, research or veterinary sectors, and one in the area of natural radioactivity – radon). No significant event was rated level 1 or higher on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). The installations and activities to regulate comprise: • Basic Nuclear Installations: • the Ionisos irradiator in Pouzauges, • the Ionisos irradiator in Sablé-sur-Sarthe; • small-scale nuclear activities in the medical sector: • 7 external-beam radiotherapy departments, • 2 brachytherapy units, • 12 nuclear medicine departments, • 37 centres practising fluoroscopy-guided interventional procedures, • 56 computed tomography scanners, • some 2,500 medical and dental radiology devices; • small-scale nuclear activities in the industrial, veterinary and research sectors: • 1 cyclotron, • 25 industrial radiography companies, including 7 performing gamma radiography, • 16 research units, • about 400 users of industrial, veterinary and research devices; • activities associated with the transport of radioactive substances; • ASN-approved laboratories and organisations: • 6 organisations approved for measuring radon, • 1 head-office of a laboratory approved for environmental radioactivity measurements. Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 88 ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024
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