The Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) and the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) have held a bilateral meeting at the headquarters of the Spanish regulator. The ASN delegation, headed by its commissioner Géraldine Pina, has been received by the commissioners Francisco Castejón, in charge of the bilateral relations with the French regulator, and Pilar Lucio.

The visit has allowed the ASN commissioner to know the CSN facilities for the first time since she took charge of the bilateral agreement signed by both institutions on nuclear safety and radiological protection in 2021. During the meeting, topics related to radiological protection of medical applications were addressed, and in particular, the CSN presented the current development of the INVEAT Plan (Plan of Investment for High-Tech Equipment) in the National Healthcare System.

The meeting has allowed to discuss highly relevant technical issues for both institutions, such as the waste management and the release of aqueous products derived from nuclear medicine treatments, and the use of new radiopharmaceuticals. In addition, the ASN commissioner had the opportunity to visit the CSN Emergency Room, one of the critical infrastructures for the execution of the Emergency Action Plan, and which constitutes the operational center of the organization of the CSN emergency response.

Visit to the Navarra University Clinic 

As a complement to the technical debates, the French delegation, accompanied by the commissioner Francisco Castejón, visited the Madrid headquarters of the Navarra University Clinic, in order to learn first-hand about its nuclear medicine unit, and in particular, to know the use of treatment and diagnosis techniques. In this sense, the Clinic experts presented the different techniques they use, such as the PET-CT (Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography) capable of detecting injuries that are difficult to identify with standard technologies and the SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography)  for diagnosing bone pathology, possible dementia or epilepsy.

The ASN is the competent regulatory authority in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France. The entity, homologous to the CSN, has a Plenary composed by five members, appointed for a period of six years. Three of them are appointed by the President of the French Republic, the other two by the presidents of the country's parliamentary chambers (National Assembly and Senate).

* Check here the glossary of technical terms *