French Public Health Code
In forceI.-The use of substances originating from a facility in which a nuclear activity is or was carried out, when they are contaminated, activated or likely to be by radionuclides belonging to categories of substances defined by decree, may be subject to an exemption to the prohibitions set out in articles R. 1333-2 and R. 1333-3, provided that these substances are first recovered in a facility referred to in articles L. 512-1 or L. 593-2 of the Environmental Code whose authorisation under this Code expressly provides for the possibility of carrying out such an operation and that the resulting products comply with the conditions set out in II.
II.The conditions under which the exemption may be granted are as follows:
1° If the products resulting from the recovery operation contain a radionuclide, the mass activity concentration of the radionuclide must not exceed the corresponding limit value defined in Table 3 of Annex 13-8 of the Public Health Code;
2° If the products resulting from the recovery operation contain several radionuclides, the weighted sum of the mass activity concentrations of each radionuclide divided by the corresponding limit value defined in Table 3 of Annex 13-8 of the Public Health Code must be less than 1 ;
3° If the products resulting from the recovery operation contain at least one radionuclide for which the corresponding limit value does not appear in table 3 of appendix 13-8 of the public health code, the added effective dose that could be received by a representative person resulting from any use of products resulting from the recovery operation, including under exposure conditions that cannot reasonably be ruled out, must not exceed 10 microsieverts per year and no worker exposed to recovered substances must be classified as a result, within the meaning ofarticle R. 4451-57 of the French Labour Code.
III - The application for a derogation is submitted to the Minister responsible for radiation protection by the person in charge of the facility referred to in Articles L. 512-1 or L. 593-2 of the Environment Code, whose authorisation issued under this code expressly provides for the possibility of carrying out a recovery operation referred to in I. It is accompanied by a dossier containing all the information needed to establish that the operation is a recovery operation, that it concerns categories of substances that may benefit from an exemption and that the conditions mentioned in II are met.
The content of the file to be attached to the exemption application is set by an order of the Minister responsible for radiation protection.
The exemption is granted by order of the Minister responsible for radiation protection after public consultation and the opinion of the Nuclear Safety Authority. It sets out the main conditions to be met for the conduct and control of the recovery operation.
If the Minister remains silent for more than two years, the application is rejected.
