About us
IRSN’s mission includes providing expertise, research projects, protection, planning for the future,
and sharing resources to the benefit of the French public authorities and the public at large.
IRSN can boast the unrivalled capacity to combine the expertise of researchers and experts in order
to plan ahead for the questions of the future about nuclear and radiological risks changes and how to
control them.
IRSN teams aim to ensure that society at large is aware of their works and can share their knowledge.
With this approach, they help to improve a wide access to information and boost dialogue with
stakeholders.
IRSN contributes to French public nuclear security and safety policies, as well as health, environmental
and crisis management policies.
As a public industrial and commercial establishment supervised jointly by the French Minister of the
Environment, the French Minister of Defence, and the French Ministers of Energy, Research and Health,
IRSN comprehensively integrates its initiatives in the Government’s modernisation policies with
its risk management approach and by implementing a CSR policy
Poles of competences
Health and environment
As part of its mission to protect the population and the environment, IRSN focuses on three topics: monitoring, expertise and research.
IRSN runs permanent radiological environmental monitoring programmes, which are essential for detecting abnormal situations. Authorities ask for IRSN for both planned and emergency operations at potentially-contaminated sites. In addition, IRSN regularly assesses the exposure levels faced by population, patients and workers exposed to ionising radiation. In the event of a crisis, IRSN provides authorities with its assessments as well as mobile resources, which can be used to measure the contamination levels of both people and the environment.
With this approach, IRSN helps to protect public health thanks to its multi-disciplinary works on radiological risks organised jointly with other entities at national, European and international level.
Nuclear safety
IRSN brings its expertise in the safety of civil nuclear facilities (nuclear reactors, fuel cycle facilities, research and transport facilities for radioactive materials), from design to decommissioning phases. IRSN manages active research projects in various nuclear safety fields in order to maintain top-level expertise and ensure on a long-term perspective the necessary knowledge and skills.
Defence, security and non proliferation
IRSN provides technical support for authorities such as the Delegate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection for defence operations and facilities, or senior defence and security officials from the French ministries assigned to non-proliferation.
IRSN teams assess security levels for defence facilities, and protect civil nuclear transport and facilities from any act of malice.
Finally, IRSN helps to ensure that France meets its commitments in terms of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the prohibition of chemical weapons.
Our ambition
Excellence
- Establish guidelines and manage research projects on nuclear and radiological risks in an international context
- Establish priority levels for expertise to support decision-making
- Maintain high-level skills in terms of research, expertise and crisis management
- Manage knowledge and use data in a digital world
Anticipation
- Identify any new issues and find the necessary solutions ahead of time
- Expand IRSN’s ability to take action and handle all types of crisis
- Promote the drive for innovation and creativity
- Allocate teams to emerging issues
Independence
- Guarantee unbiased expertise dedicated to global risk management on a long-term basis
- Establish IRSN’s position as a renowned and trustworthy actor
- Maintain IRSN’s alerting capacity
- Promote internal debates
Sharing
- Develop partnerships with civil societal organisations, to the benefit of the general interest
- Share priorities with French authorities to boost the effectiveness of public initiatives
- Reinforce European cooperation programmes in the fields of research, expertise and experience feedback
- Promote synergies within IRSN