Nuclear subcontractors receive the highest levels of radiation exposure

Nuclear subcontractors, like operator employees, may be exposed to radiation, but exposure levels are strictly regulated and controlled to ensure their safety. There is no distinction made among workers, regardless of the companies they work for.

Personnel of nuclear subcontractors may be exposed to radiation when working in risk areas, in the same way as other nuclear workers. 

The same regulation applied to all companies

Radiation exposure is strictly regulated and controlled to ensure the safety of all workers, including subcontractors. The French Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR) sets radiation exposure limits for workers in the industry in accordance with the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the directives of the European Union. The exposure limits to controllable sources, excluding medicine (and therefore including nuclear power), are 20 millisieverts (mSv) per rolling year for nuclear workers and 1 mSv per year for the general population. Subcontractor companies and EDF are subject to the same regulatory constraints on this subject. [1] 

Workers, including contractors, wear personal protective equipment and dosimeters to measure their radiation exposure. In addition, ASNR regularly carries out inspections and checks that operators and subcontractors comply with safety standards and radiation exposure limits. 

Stronger irradiation depending on the profession

However, it is true that more than two thirds of the collective dose of professionals in the nuclear sector is borne by subcontractors. This is not due to differences in status, but results from the difference in trades. Indeed, some tasks, in particular those entrusted to subcontractors, require intervention in more radiating areas than others. [2][3] 

In summary, although subcontractors in the nuclear sector may be exposed to radiation, exposure levels are strictly regulated and controlled to ensure their safety. Subcontractors also benefit from the same regulatory framework for exposure to ionizing radiation as EDF employees.