LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT The PNGMDR 2010-2012 opened up the possibility of separate disposal of graphite waste and radium-containing waste, and asked Andra to work on the two design options: ∙reworked cover disposal in an outcropping geological layer by excavation followed by backfilling; ∙intact cover disposal dug in an underground layer of clay at a greater depth. Implementation of the requirements of the PNGMDR 2013‑2015 enabled the holders of LLW-SL waste to move forward with characterising their waste and studying the treatment possibilities, particularly as concerns the graphite wastes and certain bituminous waste packages. More specifically, the radiological inventory for chlorine-36 and iodine-129 has undergone a downward reassessment. Alongside this, Andra submitted a report in July 2015 containing: ∙proposals of choices of management scenarios for graphite waste and bituminous waste; ∙preliminary design studies covering the disposal options referred to as “intact cover disposal” and “reworked cover disposal”; ∙the inventory of the waste to be emplaced in it and the implementation schedule. In 2016, ASN issued an opinion 2016-AV-264 on this report and began a revision of the general safety guidelines notice of 2008, which will ultimately be replaced by an ASN guide. To this end, a working group bringing together ASN, the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), Andra, the LLW-LL waste producers and representatives of civil society was set up. The recommendations of the IRSN report published in December 2020 and summarising the work were examined by Advisory Committees of Experts (GPEs) in March 2021. On this basis, ASN began technical discussions with Andra and IRSN in 2021, focusing in particular on the assessment of the long-term dosimetric impact of the disposal project. In 2011, Orano submitted (as part of the PNGMDR 2013-2015 preparatory work) a study concerning the long-term management of the waste already produced by the Malvési site (baptised “RTCU”), currently stored in the Écrin facility (BNI 175). Various disposal concepts are considered: ∙above-ground disposal; ∙near-surface (40 m), reworked cover disposal, in the former opencast mine pit; ∙near-surface (40 m) reworked cover disposal, in a new pit. Given the nature of the waste and the configuration of the site, ASN indicated in its opinion 2012-AV-0166 of 4 October 2012 that it is not in favour of continuing the development of a surface disposal facility, as it considers that it does not meet the long-term safety requirements. Orano has now abandoned this option. In 2021, pursuant to Article 7 of the Decree of 20 July 2015 authorising the creation of BNI 175 Ecrin, Orano sent ASN a report presenting the progress of the studies and investigations carried out. Two disposal options considered for the radioactive waste on the Malvési site and its immediate environment are being studied. ASN sent its observations concerning this report to Orano in 2024, to be taken into account in the preparation of the next progress report which will be submitted in 2026. ASN opinion 2020-AV-0357 of 6 August 2020 details the areas of work it recommends for the management of LLW-LL waste. On the basis of this opinion, the 2022-2026 edition of the PNGMDR comprises actions aiming to: ∙enhance the reliability of the inventories (by including the legacy RTCU waste stored in Écrin) and the characteristics of the LLW-LL waste; ∙clarify the saturation time-lines for the LLW-LL storage capacities; ∙define LLW-LL waste management scenarios and evaluate their advantages and drawbacks; ∙by involving the representatives of the localities actually or liable to be concerned, continue studies on an RTCU disposal facility. Pursuant to the Order of 9 December 2022 issued in application of Decree 2022-1547 of 9 December 2022, Andra transmitted a technical and Safety Options Dossier (DOS) in 2024 presenting an assessment of the feasibility of near-surface disposal of lowlevel long-lived waste on the site of the Municipal Federation of Vendeuvre-Soulaines (CCVS), and a project for an industrial scheme for the management of LLW-LL waste presenting the different existing and future management options. These elements served in particular as a work basis for a working group set up in early 2025 under the LLW-LL.2 action (“FAVL.2” in French) of the PNGMDR 2022-2026, which has studied the different options for management of LLW-LL waste on the basis of a multi-stakeholder, multi-criteria analysis, the conclusions of which are expected in 2026. 1.3.4 – High-level and intermediate-level, long-lived waste Following on from the Act of 30 December 1991, the Act of 28 June 2006 provides for the research into the management of HLW and ILW-LL radioactive waste to be continued along three complementary lines: separation and transmutation of the longlived radionuclides, interim storage and reversible deep geological disposal. Separation/transmutation The report of the Special Public Debates Commission (CPDP) of 25 November 2019 concerning the public debate prior to the 5th edition of the PNGMDR concludes in particular that “there are two options, each one defended by a certain number of the actors: deep geological disposal and interim sub-surface storage for a sufficient length of time to allow progress to be made in transmutation research in order to reduce the radioactivity of the waste.” Separation/transmutation processes aim to isolate and then transform the long-lived radionuclides in radioactive waste into shorter-lived radionuclides or even stable elements. The transmutation of the minor actinides contained in the waste would have an impact on the size of the disposal facility, by reducing both the heating power, the harmfulness of the packages placed in it and the repository inventory. Despite this however, the impact of the disposal facility on the biosphere, which originates essentially from the mobility of the radionuclides contained in the fission and activation products, would not be significantly reduced. In its opinion 2020-AV-0369 of 1 December 2020, ASN points out that the prospects of industrial-scale transmutation of the already packaged waste of the Cigéo reference inventory are not credible. It considers that, although transmutation studies should be continued, they should concern radioactive substances currently qualified as materials or the waste produced by a future fleet of reactors and that they should be carried out with a view to developing complete solutions, including the disposal of the waste resulting from transmutation and offering a high level of safety. Storage The second line of research and studies in the Act of 28 June 2006 concerns the storage of waste. The long-term storage of high-level long-lived waste (HLW-LL), which was one of the lines of research provided for in the Act of 30 December 1991, has not been retained as a definitive management solution for this type of radioactive waste. Storage facilities are nevertheless indispensable pending commissioning of the deep geological disposal facility, to allow the cooling of certain types of waste and then to accompany the industrial operation of the disposal facility, which will develop in stages. Furthermore, if operations to remove emplaced packages were to be decided on in the context of the reversibility of the repository, storage facilities would be needed. Reception of the first radioactive waste packages for deep geological disposal is now scheduled for around 2040. 364 ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
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