02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 AP 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 longlived 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. The Act of 28 June 2006 tasked Andra with coordinating the research and studies on the storage of HL and ILW-LL waste, which are therefore part of the approach of complementarity with the reversible repository. This Act stipulated more specifically that the research and studies on storage should, by 2015 at the latest, allow new storage facilities to be created or existing facilities to be modified to meet the needs identified by the PNGMDR, particularly in terms of capacity and duration. Progress in storage In 2013, Andra submitted a report on the research and studies carried out. This report more particularly presented the established inventory of future storage needs, the exploration of the complementarity between storage and disposal, studies and research on engineering and on the phenomenological behaviour of the warehouses and a review of innovative technical options. From 2013 to 2015, Andra furthered the study into storage concepts linked to repository reversibility. This concerns facilities which, if necessary, would accept packages removed from the repository. For such facilities, Andra looked for versatility which would allow simultaneous or successive storage of packages of various types in their primary form or placed in disposal overpacks. In the study it submitted in 2013, Andra stated that it had stopped its research into near-surface storage facilities. It justified abandoning this research in particular because of the greater complexity of this type of facility (consideration of the presence of underground water and the need for ventilation if exothermal waste was emplaced, surveillance of the civil engineering structures) and the lower operating flexibility. The multi-criteria analysis submitted in 2018 did not call into question these conclusions. In the light of industrial experience, research and its studies, Andra issued recommendations in 2014 for the design of future storage facilities that are complementary to disposal. They concern more specifically the service life of the facilities (up to about a hundred years), their monitoring and surveillance and their modularity. Orano has integrated some of the recommendations in the design of the extension of the glass storage facilities at La Hague (E/EV-LH) intended for HLW waste and situated in the UP3-A plant (BNI 116). This extension comprises three pits: 30, 40 and 50, commissioned in 2015, 2017 and 2022 respectively. Within the framework of the PNGMDR 2013-2015, and after presenting the inventory of HLW and ILW-LL waste packages intended for Cigéo at the end of 2013, and the status of the existing storage locations, the producers more specifically analysed the fundamental elements enabling waste package storage needs to be identified. The work carried out under the PNGMDR 2016-2018 The studies required by the PNGMDR 2016-2018 focus on the analysis of the storage needs for HL and ILW-LL waste packages and take up the broad lines of the ASN opinion of 25 February 2016. Article D. 542-79 of the Environment Code, introduced by the Decree of 23 February 2017 relative to the provisions of the PNGMDR 2016-2018, stipulates that the holders of spent fuel and HL and ILW-LL radioactive waste must keep up to date the availability status of the storage capacities for these substances by waste category and identify the future storage capacity needs for the next twenty years at least. The CEA, EDF and Orano have defined the future storage needs for all families of HL and ILW-LL waste, until 2040. The CEA, EDF and Orano have also studied, within this context, how sensitive the storage needs are to shifts in the Cigéo schedule. In its opinion 2020-AV-0369 of 1 December 2020, ASN estimates in this respect that the dates of saturation of the existing storage capacities and the future storage needs until 2040 have on the whole been well identified by the producers. Nevertheless, the storage capacity estimates must be consolidated by all the waste producers, incorporating margins to cope with any contingencies affecting the waste management routes concerned and thereby be able to anticipate the needs for additional storage capacities and the corresponding licensing procedures. Based on a comparative study of the different types of storage submitted by Andra, ASN in its opinion 2020-AV‑0369 of 1 December 2020, confirmed that near- surface storage facilities have no decisive advantage in terms of nuclear safety and radiation protection over above-ground storage facilities. The PNGMDR 2016‑2018 set out several guidelines for the design of HL and ILW-LL waste storage facilities: significant design margins; simple and modular architecture favouring passive systems; definition of provisions for controlling the ambient storage conditions in normal, incident and accident situations; definition of provisions for monitoring and management of deviations as of the design stage, provisions for preserving the memory, etc.). ASN will be attentive to the integration of these recommendations in the new facilities that will be necessary pending commissioning of Cigéo. The work carried out under the PNGMDR 2022-2026 The PNGMDR 2022-2026 comprises measures to revive discussions on credible or complementary alternatives to deep geological disposal. This approach shows an intention to explore the HL and ILW-LL waste management options more broadly, in anticipation of possible delays in the commissioning of Cigéo. A Committee for assessment and dialogue on alternatives to deep geological disposal, in which ASN is a participant, was set up in 2023 in order to provide recommendations for the next edition of the PNGMDR. This Committee met seven times in 2024 and is expected to submit its conclusions in the course of 2025. ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 381 01 Radioactive waste and contaminated sites and soils 15
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