ORGANISATION IN FRANCE OF THE CONTROL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL TRANSPORT SAFETY

Since June 12, 1997, the ministries in charge of industry and the environment are empowered to \"draft and implement the nuclear safety policy, including the transport of radioactive and fissile materials designed for civil use\" This change in the organisation within the public authorities is an answer to the concern for the rationalisation of organisation of the State where nuclear safety control is involved. The nuclear facility safety directorate (OS IN), placed under the joint authority of ministre de I'Economie, des Finances et de l'lndustrie et du ministre de I'Amenagement du Territoire et de I'Environnement, has thus, in a little less than a year, been made responsible for regulating the safety of the transport of these radioactive materials and for controlling the application of these regulations. Already for the past 25 ye.ars the DSJN has controlled the safety of the most important nuclear facilities such as reactors, fabrication fuel or reprocessing plants, or radioactive waste storage. It was therefore consistent that it should extend its activities to the transport of radioactive material between these installations and by extension to all transport of radioactive materials.