French Public Health Code
In forceI.-A sealed radioactive source is considered to have expired at the latest ten years after the date of the first registration on the supply form or, failing this, after the date on which it was first placed on the market, unless an extension is granted by the competent authority. If the Nuclear Safety Authority remains silent for more than six months on a request for an extension, this will be deemed to constitute a decision to reject the request.
II - Any holder of sealed radioactive sources that have expired or are no longer in use is required to have them taken back, regardless of their condition, by a supplier authorised to do so under the authorisation provided for in Article L. 1333-8. Sealed radioactive sources that cannot be recycled under current technical and economic conditions may be taken back as a last resort by the Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs. The cost of taking back the sources is borne by the holder.
If the holder has his sealed radioactive sources taken back by a supplier other than the original supplier or if they are taken back by the Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs, he must send a copy of this certificate to the original supplier and to the Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire within one month of receiving the take-back certificate issued by the take-back firm.
III - The provisions of I and II do not apply to sealed radioactive sources whose activity, at the time of manufacture or, if this is not known, at the time they are first placed on the market, does not exceed the exemption limit values set out in Table 1 and the second and third columns of Table 2 of Annex 13-8.
IV - The supplier of sealed radioactive sources or products or devices containing sealed radioactive sources is obliged to take back any sealed radioactive source that it has distributed when the source has expired or when its holder no longer uses it or defaults. The terms of this take-back, including the related costs, are defined between the supplier and the purchaser at the time of the transfer of the source and are retained by the holder and the supplier of the source until the source has been taken back. These terms and conditions may be updated in the light of technical or economic developments and are taken into account when the financial guarantee referred to in Article R. 1333-162 is implemented. When the source has been supplied in a device or product, the supplier is also obliged to take it back in its entirety if the holder so requests. If the holder defaults and is not himself the beneficiary of a guarantee covering the take-back costs mentioned in Article R. 1333-163, the Nuclear Safety Authority shall require the supplier to take back the sources unconditionally.
This obligation to take back sources ceases when the supplier stops distributing sealed radioactive sources. However, it is maintained for a period of three years following the expiry date of distributed sources whose activity, at the time of their manufacture or, if this is not known, at the time they are first placed on the market, exceeds the exemption limit values set in table 1 and the second and third columns of table 2 of appendix 13-8. The above-mentioned expiry date takes into account any extensions granted in application of I for which the supplier has confirmed the maintenance of the financial guarantee.
V.-Any supplier shall dispose of or arrange for the disposal of sealed radioactive sources taken back in a facility authorised for this purpose or shall return them to its supplier or to the manufacturer. It must provide evidence of sufficient storage capacity to receive the sources taken back during the period prior to their disposal or recycling.
