LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT NORM waste can be stored in two types of facility depending on its specific activity: ∙in a waste disposal facility authorised by Prefectural Order, if the acceptance conditions stipulated in the Circular of 25 July 2006(4) relative to waste disposal facilities, coming under sections 2760 of the ICPE classification are satisfied; ∙in Cires(5) (Industrial centre for grouping, storage and disposal) intended for the disposal of very low-level radioactive waste (VLLW). Some of this waste is however stored while waiting for a disposal route, in particular the commissioning of a disposal centre for lowlevel long-lived waste (LLW-LL). Four hazardous waste disposal facilities are authorised by Prefectural Order to receive waste containing NORMs. Furthermore, following the entry into effect on 1 July 2018 of Decree 2018-434 of 4 June 2018 introducing various provisions with regard to nuclear activities, the provisions of the Labour Code relative to the protection of workers against ionising radiation also apply to professional activities involving materials that naturally contain radioactive substances, which include the NORMs. 1.2 Legal framework for radioactive waste management The management of radioactive waste comes under the general waste management framework defined in Chapter I of Title IV of Book V of the Environment Code and by its implementation decrees. Particular provisions relative to radioactive waste were introduced first by Act 91-1381 of 30 December 1991 on research into the management of radioactive waste, then by Planning Act 2006-739 of 28 June 2006 on the sustainable management of radioactive materials and waste called the “Waste Act”, which gives a legislative 4. Circular of 25 July 2006 relative to classified installations – Acceptance of technologically enhanced or concentrated natural radioactivity in the waste disposal centres. 5. French acronym standing for “Industrial centre for grouping, storage and disposal”, name given in October 2012. It was originally commissioned in 2003 under the name CSTFA, standing for “Very low level waste disposal facility”. Installation subject to licensing under the System of section 2797 of the ICPEs. framework for the management of all radioactive materials and waste. A large proportion of the provisions of these Acts are codified in Chapter II of Title IV of Book V of the Environment Code. The Act of 28 June 2006 more specifically sets a calendar for research into HLW and ILW-LL waste and a clear legal framework for ring-fencing the funds needed for decommissioning and for the management of radioactive waste. It also provides for the development of a National Radioactive Materials and Waste Management Plan (PNGMDR), which aims to conduct periodic situation assessments and define the perspectives of the radioactive waste and materials management policy. It also reinforces the duties of Andra, notably by entrusting it with a public service duty for managing the waste arising from small-scale nuclear activities. Finally, it prohibits the disposal in France of foreign waste by providing for the adoption of rules specifying the conditions for the return of waste resulting from the reprocessing in France of spent fuel and waste from abroad. These rules provide for the returned reprocessed waste to be allocated according to the activity and mass of spent fuel introduced into France. However, subject to certain conditions and the opinion of ASNR, regulatory provisions introduced in 2017 and 2021 allow waiving of the conditions of allocation of the waste returned to the originating foreign countries by carrying out waste exchanges applying a system of equivalence. Recourse to a system of equivalence (by weight and radiological activity of the waste) was thus authorised by the Minister responsible for energy for the waste intended to be returned to Germany (Metall+ operation) in 2021 and for waste intended to be returned to Japan (CREATES Alternative operation) in 2024. This framework was amended in 2016 with the publication of Ordinance 2016-128 of 10 February 2016 introducing various provisions with regard to nuclear activities which made it possible to: ∙transpose Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19 July 2011 establishing a European community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, while reasserting the prohibition on the disposal in France of radioactive waste from foreign countries and of radioactive waste resulting from the reprocessing of spent fuel and the treatment of radioactive waste from abroad, and detailing the conditions of application of this prohibition; ∙define a procedure for the administrative authority to requalify materials as radioactive waste; ∙reinforce the existing administrative and penal enforcement actions and provide for new enforcement actions in the event of failure to comply with the provisions applicable to the management of radioactive waste and spent fuel. The conditions for creating a reversible deep geological repository for HLW and ILW-LL radioactive waste are detailed in Act 20161015 of 25 July 2016. 1.2.1 – Legal framework for the management of radioactive waste produced in Basic Nuclear Installations In France, the management of radioactive waste in BNIs is governed in particular by the Order of 7 February 2012 setting the general rules relative to BNIs, of which Title VI concerns waste management. BNI licensees establish a waste zoning plan which identifies the zones in which the waste produced is or could be contaminated or activated. As a protective measure, the waste produced in these zones is managed as if it was radioactive and must be directed to dedicated routes. This absence of release thresholds for waste coming from a zone in which the waste is or could be contaminated or activated, constitutes a particularity of the French regulations. HIGHLIGHT No. 1 The role of ASNR in waste management The public authorities, and ASNR in particular, are attentive to the fact that there must be a management route for all waste and that each waste management step is carried out under safe conditions. ASNR thus considers that the development of management routes appropriate to each waste category is fundamental and that any delay in the search for long-term waste disposal solutions will increase the volume and size of the storage areas in the facilities and the inherent risks. ASNR takes care, particularly within the framework of the PNGMDR but also by inspecting the installations and regularly assessing the licensees’ waste management strategy, to ensure that the system made up by all these routes is complete, safe and coherent. This approach must take into consideration all the issues of safety, radiation protection, minimising waste volume and toxicity, while ensuring satisfactory traceability of the operations performed. Finally, ASNR considers that this management approach must be conducted in a manner that is transparent for the public and involves all the stakeholders, in a framework that fosters the expression of different opinions. The PNGMDR is drawn up by the Ministry which at the time was called the Ministry of Energy Transition (MTE). The Ministry has opted, in the light of the public debate of 2019, to rely on a pluralistic “Guidance Commission”, in which ASNR participates. This Commission is chaired by an independent qualified person. Monitoring of the technical and operational implementation of the PNGMDR is still ensured by a pluralistic working group co-chaired by ASNR and the General Directorate for Energy and the Climate (DGEC), as described in chapter 2. On its website, ASNR also publishes the PNGMDR, its summary, the minutes of the abovementioned working group’s meetings, the studies required by the plan and the opinions it has issued on these studies. 360 ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
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