France reports increase in average ionizing radiation exposure

The French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR) has reported a slight increase in the average annual ionizing radiation exposure for the French population between 2020 and 2024. The estimated average dose per inhabitant rose to 7.1 mSv/year, compared to 4.5 mSv/year during the 2014-2019 period.

This increase is primarily attributed to a reassessment of radon exposure. Due to updated French regulations and recent epidemiological studies regarding the relationship between exposure and risk, the evaluated dose from radon rose from 1.5 mSv/year to 3.9 mSv/year. Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas found in soil, remains the largest source of exposure, accounting for 55% of the total.

Other contributors include medical imaging (23%), the ingestion of natural radionuclides (9%), telluric radiation (9%), and cosmic radiation (4%). Industrial use of radioactivity accounts for less than 1% of exposure. Regionally, the Grand Est area shows higher than average exposure levels due to natural factors like the Vosges massif and industrial sources such as the Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant.