IRSN, the French national public service scientific and technicalexpert in the assessment of nuclear and radiological risks
October 2022

IRSN FACT SHEETSIRSN is a State-owned
industrial and commercial
establishment (EPIC) createdby French law no. 2001-398
of May 9, 2001, the missions,status, and operation ofwhich are determined by
Articles L592-45 to L592-49
and R592-39 to R592-61 ofthe French Environment
Code. IRSN is under the jointsupervision of the French
Minister for the Environment,
the French the Minister ofDefense, and the French
Ministers of Energy,
Research, and Health.

www.irsn.fr

As a public expert in the assessment of nuclear and radiological risks, IRSN contributes, through its researchand expertise, to the development and implementation of public policies on prevention and protection against
ionizing radiation risks in the energy, environment, and health sectors.

Inform public decisions
IRSN, an independent scientific and technical expert
The national organization for nuclear safety, security, and protection of persons against ionizing radiation is based on fourpillars with clearly defined roles and responsibilities:

Activity managers (operators)
implement the processes(industry, research, medicalsector, defense, etc.) and areresponsible for the safety of theirfacilities or activities.

As a public expert, IRSN
advances scientificknowledge to manage all
nuclear and radiation risks.
Through its research,
methods, and interactions
with all stakeholders, IRSN
assesses these risks andtheir consequencesindependently. It thus
contributes to theirprevention, detection, andthe limitation of their
possible effects, in order toprotect the population andthe environment.

Parliament and the publicauthorities control and decide.
IRSN carries out research andassessments to inform publicdecisions.
Stakeholders and societycontribute, through their vigilance,
to managing nuclear andradiological risks.
The nuclear and radiological risk governance system, of which IRSN is part, is structured according to a principle of separationof risk assessment and management functions. Assessments are carried out by IRSN, the public expert, risk managementand decisions relating to the means to manage them are the responsibility of the authorities and government departments.
Therefore, IRSN’s mission is to inform, through its scientific and technical expertise, public decision-making on nuclear safety
and radiation protection. This nuclear and radiological risk assessment and management organization was defined by law in2001 and reaffirmed in 2015 in the law on the Energy Transition for Green Growth. It is also applied in other areas, in Franceand Europe, such as health risks.

ð This system provides the expert with the framework for an independent, impartial, and reliable
assessment.
Contact
Emmanuelle MurTel. +33(0)1 58 35 96 71
Registered office31, av. de la Division Leclerc
92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses

Multi-disciplinarity and technical complementarity for assessments
The use of ionizing radiation in France is diversified (industry including the nuclear power sector as a whole, defense sector,medical sector, research sector, etc.). Ionizing radiation also occurs naturally (radon, cosmic radiation, etc.). The range ofassociated risks is wide (technological risks, health risks, environmental risks, etc.). In connection with this variety, various
government departments or authorities are in charge of managing these risks, each within a defined scope.

Contact
jean-christophe.niel@irsn.fr
Tel. +33 (0)1 58 35 84 89
Registered office31, av. de la Division Leclerc
92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses

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Within this plural system, IRSN provides its expertise to these various public decision-makers. Its positioning, the scope of
its tasks, and the spectrum of its skills favor:

Information tosociety: a few figuressynergies, illustrated, in particular, by the complementary nature of research/expertise which allows, through researchon nuclear safety and radiation protection, the development and acquisition of knowledge for expertise;

194 opinions and reports

cross-functionality and consistency in assessing the risk, whether in the civilian or defense sectors, or in the various
areas of use of ionizing radiation (nuclear power, medical, research, natural, etc.);

104 responses to requests

efficiency: beyond the cross-functionality and consistency of approaches, the system provides, in an optimized manner
and within a single structure, a significant assessment capability that can be adapted to different situations, including
those relating to nuclear or radiological emergencies, and enabling expertise to be made available to all the State’sservices, both at national and regional level.

published on www.irsn.fr in2020.
from CLIs and associationsin 2020.

11 IRSN assistancemissions to CLIs in 2020.

An expert in interaction with the environment

240 scientific papers

published annually in peerreviewed journals, onaverage.

IRSN values interactions with all stakeholders in nuclear safety and security as well as radiation protection, business
managers, authorities and public authorities, and society, in France, Europe, and internationally. These interactions are
established:
during assessment processes:§ with the authorities and public authorities with which the assesment's outline and questions are defined,§ with those in charge of activities in the context of a joint scientific and technical dialog,
during research, which is based on national, European, and international cooperation and partnerships. In line with thecommitments made in the State-IRSN Objectives and Performance Contract (COP) for 2019-2023, IRSN has undertaken
to develop its structural partnerships based on three types of cooperation:§ with nuclear sector stakeholders: safety and radiation protection technical bodies, manufacturers,§ with academia: French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris-Saclay University, Gustave-Roussy
Institute, etc.
with civil society (see below A public expert serving society)with its foreign counterparts. IRSN, an internationally recognized stakeholder, has a conscious international strategy
based on three types of partnerships:§ at European level, with ETSON (European Technical Safety Organizations Network), a network of European 'IRSNs',
and the European Commission, in particular by responding to its calls for assessments or research projects,§ at international level, with the IAEA, an international multilateral reference body for all IRSN missions,§ at bilateral level, through relationships with some partners, notably in Europe, Japan, and the U.S.A.

§§

A public expert serving society
At a time when environmental democracy is gaining ground, as shown by IRSN’s annual Barometer of the perception ofrisks and security by the French people, civil society claims more transparency and wants to actively participate in risk
assessment ahead of political decision-making, thus contributing, through citizen vigilance, to managing these risks.
The opening up of the Institute’s work to society stakeholders aims to build a shared understanding of nuclear and radiation
risks, the associated challenges, and the mechanisms to deal with them. It is in this spirit – and in accordance with acommitment made in the COP for 2019-2023 – that a committee named ODISCÉ was created in 2021, tasked with advising
IRSN on new dialogs to be undertaken in order to enhance the robustness of its assessment work by including questions
from society.
In the same logic, IRSN is pursuing a set of actions aimed at:
informing society, via its website (on which it publishes, in particular, the opinions resulting from its technicalassessment work, the main results of its research programs, etc.), its publications (Barometer of the perception of risks
and security by the French people, Repères magazine, etc.), and its contribution to public debates or monitoring
committees (such as that dedicated to the monitoring of tritium in the Loire river);enhancing the technical competence of Local Information Committees (CLIs) and the National Association of Local
Information Committees and Commissions (Anccli) members, in the context of technical dialogs;
involving each citizen in their radiation protection through the development of participatory science projects (such asOpenRadiation), by giving elements of practical radiation protection culture, in particular to young people, throughinitiatives, such as the Rencontres lycéennes de la radioprotection, an annual international gathering of school students
involved in radiation protection workshops).
deploying collaborative research to experiment with various methodological approaches to research on health and theenvironment.

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IRSN's main challenges in the coming years
IRSN will face several challenges in the coming years, in all its fields (industrial, health, defense, research, etc.).

Nuclear safety
As a public expert on nuclear and radiological risks, IRSN must contribute, over time and through its independent
assessment, to the safe operation of civil and defense nuclear facilities in a country where they are central and where major
projects are being studied or under construction:
the lifetime extension of the second largest nuclear fleet in the world;
the safety assessment of new reactors: EPR, small modular reactors (SMR), international experimental thermonuclear
fusion reactor (Iter), etc.
the safety assessment of future nuclear fuel cycle facilities, including spent fuel and waste management: centralizedpool for the storage of spent fuels, geological storage of high-level and intermediate-level long-lived waste (Cigeo), etc.
future nuclear propulsion programs (submarines launching third generation missiles, aircraft carriers, etc.).
IRSN will also continue its involvement in the convergence of technical approaches and practices for nuclear safety at
European and international level.

Environment
IRSN's regular radiation monitoring of the environment (air, water, food, etc.) is based on networks of remote sensingbeacons and environment sampling stations, permanently installed at specific points in the country, as close as possible tonuclear facilities or outside their influence.
In addition to this regular monitoring, IRSN carries out dedicated studies:
either at regional level: radiological studies summarize the knowledge of the levels of natural and artificial radioactivity
in a particular region, territory, or catchment area;or focused on the environment close to nuclear facilities: radiological studies of sites to deepen knowledge on theradiological impact of a nuclear facility on its immediate surroundings, to realistically assess – through specificmeasurements combined with modeling – the exposure of neighboring populations and to involve civil society
stakeholders in the study and the report.
For the coming years, IRSN’s main challenges in this field are as follows:
optimize existing regular monitoring networks to keep them in operational condition;
maintain a culture of flexibility and responsiveness: better manage the transition between a normal situation and an
emergency situation through procedures the effectiveness of which are regularly proven in exercises;
maintain a metrological point of contact role through the development of methods to remain cutting edge, themaintenance of a set of accreditations, and participation in national and international comparison exercises;
explicitly contribute to public policies by making available, in particular, environmental characterization and impact
assessment data from its monitoring program or some of its studies;
shift from regional radiation studies to site radiation studies;reconsider the monitoring strategy in particular situations such as radiological events, nuclear or health emergencies,etc.
take advantage of the most advanced technologies – such as digital tools – to turn them into productivity levers andadapt its technical platform (new sampling systems, automation of measurement systems, etc.).

HealthToday, IRSN contributes, through its research and expertise, to the development of public policies on prevention andprotection in the field of health.
The use of ionizing radiation on patients, for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, in particular to treat cancer, is increasing:
80 million radiological examinations, 1.5 million diagnosis examinations, 15,000 therapeutic procedures in nuclear
medicine, and 4.1 million radiotherapy sessions are carried out each year in France. Increasing numbers;
techniques using ionizing radiation are evolving rapidly, personalized medicine practices are developing, innovativetreatments (for example, to treat the 5-10% of patients who have developed sequelae from their radiotherapy treatment)
are emerging.

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Find out more
www.irsn.fr

As such, with strong societal expectations, IRSN’s assessments must adapt to the associated risks, the importance andnature of which change.
For example, in the field of research, in partnership with APHP (the university hospital trust operating in Paris and its
surroundings), IRSN has undertaken a clinical study aimed at demonstrating the effectiveness of cell therapy in treating theside effects of radiotherapy.
The Institute also contributes to European strategic actions such as the European Cancer Control Plan or, internationally,provides assistance to WHO and IAEA as a contributing center for these bodies.

In the field of radiation or nuclear emergency management
IRSN provides support to the authorities in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency, promptly providing assessment
capabilities and dedicated technical resources.
IRSN’s technical response system to emergency situations is based on two complementary tools, the Technical Crisis
Center (TCC), devoted to the technical assessment (diagnostics and prognosis) of accident situations, and a fleet of aroundtwenty vehicles equipped with measurement and communication resources, ready to be dispatched on site for measuring
the radiation status of the environment and people. This system also relies on all the means of the fixed laboratories
implemented as part of permanent radiation protection monitoring as well as on continuous monitoring of the environment
using measurement networks (Teleray and Hydroteleray beacons, OPERA-Air aerosol collection stations, etc.) which allow
it to detect and analyze any increase in radiation levels in the environment.

Research and assessment means
For many years, IRSN has worked in a context marked by an ever-increasing demand for expertise on increasingly complex
subjects in its various fields, due to increased questioning and societal involvement and the emergence of scientificchallenges in terms of nuclear safety, security, and radiation protection of people and the environment.

ð In response to these various challenges, IRSN's role is set to increase rather than decrease.
As such, in order to have the capacity to respond and to fully perform all of its missions, IRSN primarily relies on its experts
and researchers, within the limit of its employment allowances, while maintaining the balance of assessment and research
activities necessary for the sustainability of risk assessments.
Within the current budgetary framework, IRSN has, in conjunction with the public and governmental authorities:
implemented expert assessment efficiency measures;strengthened control of expenditure, in particular the payroll, with the desire to increase external revenue, limited by its
ability to mobilize the necessary human resources within the employment allowances.
However, as the Court of Auditors notes, these measures do not ensure the Institute’s sustainability: "IRSN’s budgetary
sustainability will largely depend on the level and nature of its resources. The supervisory authorities must therefore deal withthis issue in order to guarantee the Institute’s ability to perform its missions in the long term" (order from the Court of Auditorsof June 25, 2021).

Five key priorities for IRSN's future
1. Under France’s energy policy, respond to new requests for safety assessments related to the development or launch of
new industrial projects, while ensuring the continuation of those associated with the fleet in operation.
2. Building on the feedback from recent emergency situations, ensure that its emergency response system is up to thechallenge, in particular by renewing the dedicated resources.
3. Maintain at state of the art or develop the scientific and technical legacy constituted in the years following the Institute'screation.
4. Preserve and adapt its digital infrastructure, in a rapidly changing sector, in particular among the Institute’s contacts(operators, public and governmental authorities) and aging assets.
5. Ensure the Institute’s attractiveness, in a context of tension on the labor market, in particular in the prospect of strong
demand from manufacturers for trades which are also those of IRSN.

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