LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT Storage Storage, as defined by Article L. 542-1-1 of the Environment Code, is a temporary management solution for radioactive waste. The waste is kept in storage for a limited period (which can extend to 50 years) pending its transfer to disposal, or in order to achieve a sufficient level of radioactive decay to enable it to be sent to conventional waste management routes in the particular case of very short-lived waste, which comes chiefly from the medical sector. Some facilities (see map above) are specifically dedicated to the storage of radioactive waste, such as Cedra, commissioned in 2006, Écrin, commissioned in 2018, and Iceda, commissioned in 2020. This will also be the case of Diadem, once this facility is commissioned in about 2030. As for the CSD-C and CSD-V packages, they are stored directly in various facilities on the La Hague site pending commissioning of the deep geological repository for HL and ILW-LL waste (Cigéo). Research and Development Support facilities are used for research and development work to optimise radioactive waste management. Among these, the Chicade facility (BNI 156) operated by CEA on the Cadarache site conducts research and development work on LLW and ILW objects and waste. This work primarily concerns aqueous waste treatment processes, decontamination processes, solid waste packaging methods and the expert assessment and inspection of waste packages. 2.1.3 – Oversight of the packaging of waste packages Regulations The Order of 7 February 2012 defines the requirements associated with waste packaging. Producers of radioactive waste are instructed to package their waste taking into account the requirements associated with their subsequent management, and more particularly their acceptance at the disposal facilities. ASN resolution 2017-DC-0587 of 23 March 2017 specifies the requirements regarding waste packaging for disposal and the conditions of acceptance of waste packages in the disposal BNIs. Production of waste packages intended for existing disposal facilities The waste package producers prepare an approval application file based on the acceptance specifications of the disposal facility that is to receive the packages. Andra issues an approval formalising its agreement on the package manufacturing process and the quality of the packages. Andra verifies the conformity of the packages with the delivered approvals by means of audits and monitoring actions on the package producers’ premises and on the packages received at its facilities. Waste packages intended for projected disposal facilities With regard to disposal facilities currently being studied, the waste acceptance specifications have of course not yet been defined. Andra cannot therefore issue approvals to govern the production of packages for LLW-LL, HLW-LL or ILW-LL waste. Under these conditions, the production of packages of these types of waste is subject to ASN approval on the basis of a file established by the waste producer called “packaging baseline requirements”. This file must demonstrate that on the basis of existing knowledge and the currently identified requirements of the disposal facilities still under study, the packages display no unacceptable behaviour, and concerning, for example, the geometry and the maximum masses of the packages, waste that is prohibited or subject to restriction or the dose rate or radiological activity limits. This provision notably also avoids delaying legacy Waste Retrieval and Packaging (WRP) operations in facilities being decommissioned (see chapter 12). Within the framework of the PNGMDR 2016-2018, the waste producers were asked to study the acceptability of the waste packages intended for Cigéo. In its opinion 2020-AV-0369 of 1 December 2020, and in a letter of 23 July 2021, ASN made several observations relative to the methodology for producing these preliminary acceptance specifications for Cigéo, the chosen parameters and the envisaged modes of disposal. It considered in particular that the methodology for producing these preliminary acceptance specifications for Cigéo was satisfactory. It nevertheless noted that several parameters, qualitative in particular, should be consolidated in order to facilitate their verification. Furthermore, as the producers’ analysis of package acceptability could only be considered as partial, notably in view of the chosen mode of disposal, it will have to be carried out again on the basis of the next version of the preliminary acceptance specifications for Cigéo integrated in the Cigéo creation authorisation application submitted in January 2023. This analysis falls within the scope of the “HAMAVL.10” action of the PNGMDR 2022-2026, which requires the main producers of radioactive waste (CEA, EDF and Orano) to submit to the DGEC and ASNR an analysis of the compatibility of the preliminary acceptance specifications for the Cigéo facility with the data for the primary packages for which they are responsible. Checks and inspections Alongside Andra’s surveillance of approved packages, ASNR checks the steps taken by the licensee to correctly implement the requirements of the approvals issued by Andra and to master the packaging processes. For waste packages intended for disposal facilities still under study, ASNR is particularly attentive to ensuring that the packages comply with the conditions of the packaging approvals it issues. By means of inspections, ASNR also ensures that Andra takes the necessary steps to verify the quality of the packages accepted in its disposal facilities. This is because ASNR considers that Andra’s role in the approvals issuing process and in monitoring the measures taken by the waste package producers is vital in guaranteeing package quality and compliance with the safety case of the waste repositories. 2.1.4 – Developing the regulatory framework and issuing prescriptions to the licensees ASNR can issue resolutions of a regulatory nature. Thus, the provisions of the Order of 7 February 2012 which concern the management of radioactive waste have been set out in the ASN resolutions mentioned earlier relative to waste management in BNIs and the packaging of waste. To give an example, the resolution of 23 March 2017 addresses the packaging of radioactive waste and the conditions of acceptance of the radioactive waste packages in the disposal BNIs. Its aim is to specify the safety requirements at the various stages of a management route. Moreover, to ensure a consistent approach to the management of waste in BNIs and Defence Basic Nuclear Installations (DBNIs), ASN and ASND signed an agreement in January 2021 coordinating their actions in this area. More broadly, ASNR issues requirements relative to the management of waste coming from the BNIs. ASN indicates certain waste management requirements in two guides: Guide No. 18 relative to the management of radioactive effluents and waste produced by a nuclear activity licensed under the Public Health Code, and Guide No. 23 relative to the BNI waste zoning plan (see points 1.2.1 and 1.2.2). Lastly, ASNR is consulted for its opinion on draft regulatory texts relative to radioactive waste management. 370 ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025
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