The ''Autorité de sûreté nucléaire'' ( en, Nuclear Safety Authority, ASN) is an independent French administrative authority set up by law 2006-686 of 13 June 2006 concerning

nuclear transparency Nuclear transparency is the ratio of cross-sections for exclusive processes from the nuclei to those of the nucleons. If a nuclear cross-section is denoted as \sigma_N and free nucleon cross-section as \sigma_0, then nuclear transparency can b ...

and

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

. It has replaced the General Direction for Nuclear Safety and Radioprotection. Its task, on behalf of the State, is to regulate nuclear safety and

radiation protection Radiation protection, also known as radiological protection, is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The protection of people from harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the means for achieving this". Expos ...

in order to protect workers, patients, the public and the environment from the risks involved in nuclear activities. It also contributes to informing the citizens. From 2006 to 2012, the president of the ASN was André-Claude Lacoste who was also a founding member and had been chairman of the

International Nuclear Regulators' Association The International Nuclear Regulators' Association (INRA) was established in January 1997 and is an association of the most senior officials of the nuclear regulatory authorities of the following countries: https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/ip/intl-organ ...

(INRA) and the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA). He was also the chairman of the

Commission on Safety Standards Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anothe ...

(CSS) of the

IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

. Since November 2018, the president of the ASN is

Bernard Doroszczuk Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

. Early during the

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...

, the ASN stated that they believed the events unfolding should be rated a 5 or even a 6 on the

International Nuclear Event Scale The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in order to enable prompt communication of safety significant information in case of nuclear accidents. The s ...

when the

Japan Atomic Energy Agency The is an Independent Administrative Institution formed on October 1, 2005 by a merger of two previous semi-governmental organizations. While it inherited the activities of both JNC and JAERI, it also inherited the nickname of JAERI, "Genken" ...

had listed them a day before as a level 4 event. Later on they said they believed the situation had surpassed that of a level 5 event and moved to a level 6. Their opinion was shared by the Finnish nuclear authorities.taken from Fukushima I nuclear accidents page During 2015 and 2016 major nuclear safety issues arose, following a discovery at the

Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant The Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant is located at Flamanville, Manche, France on the Cotentin Peninsula. The power plant houses two pressurized water reactors (PWRs) that produce 1.3 GWe each and came into service in 1986 and 1987, respective ...

, concerning about 400 large steel forgings manufactured by

Areva Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...

's Le Creusot Forge since 1965 that had carbon-content irregularities that weakened the steel. A widespread programme of reactor checks was started leading to 20 of France's 58 reactors being offline in October 2016. These steel quality concerns may prevent the regulator giving the life extensions from 40 to 50 years, that had been assumed by energy planners, for many reactors. Le Creusot Forge had maintained concealed files which had now been disclosed to ASN following new management by

. ASN characterised the current situation in January 2017 as worrying. In April 2017 ASN published the requirements for forging to resume at Le Creusot Forge, which has been out of operation since December 2015. In 2018 ASN introduced stricter monitoring of component production in response to the problems found at Creusot Forge.

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External links

* 2006 establishments in France Governmental nuclear organizations Nuclear regulatory organizations Nuclear safety in France Radiation protection organizations {{Nuclear-power-stub

See also

References

External links