GANIL: a basic nuclear installation dedicated to research - 'ACROnic du nucleaire' nr 90, September 2010

GANIL stands for Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds (Large National accelerator of heavy ions). It is located in Caen. A new installation for the production of radioactive ions (SPIRAL2) is planned within this research facility. This document briefly describes the use of ion beams to explore matter, and the purpose of GANIL, SPIRAL and SPIRAL2. The construction of this last equipment induces new radiation protection and safety issues which are herein discussed: matter confinement, protection of personnel, waste management (dismantling, storage and transport), and impact of releases on the environment. Annual authorization for gaseous releases and equivalent dose limitations are indicated. The document presents the action of the local information commission (CLI) which has been created in relationship with this nuclear installation, and comments the answers given by the GSIEN (Group of scientists for information on nuclear energy) to questions asked by the CLI about the need for a release authorization, about specified levels, about the waste issue, about incident or accident scenarios, about possibilities to optimize the survey system. A last part reports the CLI's opinion on the public inquiry made about the SPIRAL2 project