LES ACTIVITÉS NUCLÉAIRES : RAYONNEMENTS IONISANTS ET RISQUES POUR LA SANTÉ ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT In addition, the on-site radioactive waste storage capacities must be planned for with conservative margins in order to prevent them reaching saturation. The legacy waste stored on the Tricastin site necessitates a large amount of work to characterise it and find management solutions. The storage conditions in some of the Tricastin site facilities do not meet current safety requirements and must be improved. ∙Sufficient chemical and radiological analysis resources to consolidate waste inventories and gain a good understanding of the characteristics of this waste so as to be able to identify management solutions adapted to its characteristics. ∙The definition of solutions for waste packaging, in particular the legacy waste. The methods of packaging radioactive waste intended for a projected disposal BNI must receive the prior approval of ASNR pursuant to Article 6.7 of the Order of 7 February 2012 (see point 2.2.2). Keeping control of the packaging deadlines is a particularly important aspect, which requires the development of characterisation and R&D programmes to demonstrate the feasibility and compatibility of the chosen packaging processes with the subsequent management steps and to identify sufficiently early the risks that could significantly affect the associated project. If necessary, when the feasibility of the defined packaging cannot be determined within times compatible with the prescribed deadlines, the licensee must plan for an alternative solution, including in particular interim storage areas allowing the retrieval and characterisation of the legacy waste as rapidly as possible, while guaranteeing the absence of any counter-action that could jeopardise the safety of their storage, the final packaging and the subsequent management phases of the resulting packages. An update of this strategy is expected in the summer of 2027. Within the framework of the WRP operations, Orano is examining packaging solutions that necessitate the development of new processes, particularly for the following ILW-LL waste: ∙the radioactive sludge from the La Hague STE2 facility; ∙the alpha-emitting technological waste which comes primarily from the La Hague and Melox (Gard département) plants and is not suitable for above-ground disposal. For other types of ILW-LL waste resulting from the WRP operations, Orano is examining the possibility of adapting existing processes (compaction, cementation, vitrification). Some of the associated packaging baseline requirements are currently being examined by ASNR. 2.5 EDF’s waste management strategy and its assessment by ASNR The radioactive waste produced by EDF comes from several distinct activities. It mainly comprises waste from the operation of the NPPs, which consists of activated waste from the reactor cores, and waste from their operation and maintenance. Some legacy waste and waste resulting from ongoing decommissioning operations can be added to this. EDF is also the owner, for the share attributed to it, of HLW and ILW-LL waste resulting from spent fuel reprocessing in the Orano La Hague plant. Activated waste This waste notably comprises control rod assemblies and poison rod assemblies used for reactor operation. This is ILW-LL waste that is produced in small quantities. This waste is stored in the NPP fuel storage pools pending transfer to the Iceda facility. The year 2025 was marked by the dispatch of the first package of activated waste from the decommissioning of the Fessenheim site to the Iceda facility. Operational and maintenance waste Some of the waste is processed by melting or incineration in the Centraco facility, in order to reduce the volume of ultimate waste. The other types of operational and maintenance waste are packaged on the production site then shipped to the CSA or Cires repositories for disposal (see points 1.3.1 and 1.3.2). This waste contains beta and gamma emitters, and few or no alpha emitters. At the end of 2013, EDF submitted a file presenting its waste management strategy. After examining this file, ASN in 2017 asked EDF to continue its measures to reduce the uncertainties concerning the activity of the waste sent to the CSA, to improve its organisational arrangements to guarantee the allocation of sufficient resources to radioactive waste management, and to present the most appropriate process for the treatment of used steam generators. Finally, the spent control rod cluster guide tubes from the EDF fleet shall be disposed of directly in the CSA, following EDF’s decision to abandon the Cyclife France reprocessing project in the Centraco facility, in order to reduce the volume of waste. The issues and challenges The main issues relating to the EDF waste management strategy concern: ∙The management of legacy waste. This mainly concerns structural waste (graphite sleeves) from the GCR fuels. This waste could be disposed of in a repository for LLW-LL waste (see point 1.3.4). It is stored primarily in semi-buried silos at Saint-Laurentdes-Eaux. Graphite waste is also present in the form of stacks in the GCRs currently being decommissioned. In the context of the PNGMDR 2016-2018, EDF conducted a study of the reliability of the activity predictions for this waste and submitted its conclusions in December 2019. Further to requests from ASN, further information was provided in 2023. This information is subject to review by ASNR. ∙The unique and irreplaceable nature of Iceda, which provides the only route for removal of activated waste from nuclear power plants so that it can be conditioned and placed in interim storage with a view to future storage. ∙The changes linked to the “fuel cycle”. EDF’s fuel use policy (see chapter 8) has consequences for the “fuel cycle” installations (see chapter 10) and for the quantity and nature of the waste produced. 3 – Management of mining residues and mining waste rock from former uranium mines Uranium mines were worked in France between 1948 and 2001, producing 76,000 tons of uranium. Some 250 sites in France were involved in exploration, extraction and processing activities. The sites were spread over 27 départements in the eight regions: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-FrancheComté, Bretagne, Grand Est, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Pays de la Loire and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Ore processing was carried out in eight plants. The former uranium mines are now almost all under the responsibility of Orano. The working of uranium mines produced two categories of products: ∙mining waste rock, that is to say the rocks excavated to gain access to the ore. The quantity of mining waste rock extracted is estimated at about 170 million tonnes; ∙static or dynamic processing tailings, which are the products remaining after extraction of the uranium from the ore. In France, these tailings represent 50 million tonnes spread over 17 disposal sites. These sites are ICPEs and their environmental impact is monitored. ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025 373 13 12 11 10 09 08 01 05 02 06 03 07 04 A / Z
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