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	Foreword The year 2009 Presentation The commission Keytopics The ASN's organisation
	Nuclear activities: ionising radiations and health and environmental risks The principles and stakeholders in nuclear safety regulation, radiation protection and protection of the environment Regulations Regulation of nuclear activities and exposure to ionising radiations Radiological emergencies Public information and transparency International relations Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection
	Medical uses of ionising radiations Non-medical uses of ionising radiations Transport of radioactive materials EDF nuclear power plants Nuclear fuel cycle installations Nuclear research facilities and various nuclear installations Safe decommissioning of basic nuclear installations Radioactive waste and polluted sites
	Annual report 2009 - PDF format Previous reports The INES scale The ASN-SFRO scale Strategic plan for 2010 - 2012
	Nuclear Security and Transparency Act Waste Act Commissioner's biographies

The principles and stakeholders in nuclear safety regulation, radiation protection and protection of the environment

Chapter 02

The principles of nuclear safety, radiation protection and protection of the environment
1. The principle of preventive and corrective action, primarily at the source
2. "Polluter-pays" principle
3. Precautionary principle
4. Public participation principle
5. Justification principle
6. Optimisation principle
7. Limitation principle
8. The principle of licensee responsibility
The stakeholders
1. The parliament
2. The government
  1. The ministers responsible for nuclear safety and radiation protection
  2. The préfets
3. The nuclear safety authority (ASN)
  1. Responsibilities
  2. Organisation
  3. Operation
4. Consultative bodies
  1. The BNI consultative committee
  2. The high council for public health
  3. The high committee for transparency and information on nuclear security
5. Technical support organisations
  1. The institute for radiation protection and nuclear safety
  2. The advisory committees
  3. ASN's other technical support organisations
Outlook

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The regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection concerns all State structures:

Parliament, in particular the OPECST, for definition of the main long-term options;
the Government, in particular the ministers responsible for nuclear safety and radiation protection, who are given general regulatory and decision-making powers concerning the creation of a BNI;
ASN, which in particular contributes to drafting technical regulations and to monitoring and regulation of activities;
the consultative bodies, which provide an outside view of the important decisions concerning nuclear safety and radiation protection;
the préfets, who are in charge of protecting the population.

In 2009, which was ASN's third full year as an independent administrative Authority, the various arrangements provided for by the 13 June 2006 Act on nuclear transparency and security continued to be put into place.

For ASN, this year was an opportunity to consolidate its legitimacy and draft its new strategic plan for the period 2010-2012, with the aim of strengthening the effectiveness and quality of its regulation and inspection of nuclear safety and radiation protection, together with the other State stakeholders and with its European neighbours, in order to confirm its position and its responsibilities.

In line with its policy of continuous progress, ASN welcomed an IRRS international audit mission which considered that it had responded satisfactorily to the vast majority of the recommendations and suggestions made following the first audit in 2006.

For the performance of its actions and in line with its independent status, ASN maintains strong ties with the other stakeholders involved in regulating or providing information about nuclear safety, radiation protection and protection of the environment. In particular, ASN in 2009 developed its relations with Parliament.

As in 2009, ASN's staff, operating and intervention budget will be part of action 9 "Regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection" of programme 181 "Risk prevention". ASN also has access to resources within three other programmes. These resources enable ASN to perform most of its responsibilities. However, ASN considers that a simpler budget structure could be put into place giving greater visibility and flexibility in financing the regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection.