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1.2.1 Oversight of the BNIs
With regard to radioactive waste management, ASN’s
oversight and inspection activities aim at verifying on the
one hand correct application of the waste management
regulations on the production sites and on the other
hand the safety of the facilities dedicated to radioactive
waste management (waste reprocessing, packaging,
storage and disposal facilities).
These activities are described in this chapter as well as
in chapters 8 and 13.
1.2.2 Oversight of the packaging of waste packages
Regulations
The Order of 7th February 2012 defines the requirements
associatedwithwaste 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 has written a draft resolution specifying the
requirements regarding waste packaging for disposal
and the conditions of acceptance of waste packages
in the disposal BNIs. This text was made available for
consultation by the stakeholders and the public in 2015.
It will be signed by the ASN Commission in 2016.
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 delivers 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 andmonitoring 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 therefore cannot issue approvals
to govern the production of packages for LLW-LL
(Low-Level, Long-Lived Waste), HLW (High-Level
Waste) or ILW-LL (Intermediate-Level, Long-Lived
Waste) waste.
Consequently, the production of waste packages for a
disposal facility currently being studied is subject to
ASN authorisation on the basis of a file called “packaging
baseline requirement”. This file must demonstrate that
the packages display no unacceptable behaviour under
the disposal conditions on the basis of existing knowledge
and the currently known requirements of the disposal
facilities being studied.
This provision also avoids delaying waste retrieval and
packaging operations.
Checks and inspections
AlongsideAndra’s surveillance of approvedpackages, ASN
checks that the licensee correctly applies the requirements
of the approval and has a satisfactory command of the
packaging processes. For waste packages intended for
disposal facilities still being studied, ASNapplies particular
vigilance to ensuring that the packages comply with the
conditions of the issued authorisations.
ASN also ensures through inspections that Andra takes
adequate steps toverify the qualityof thepackages accepted
in its disposal facilities. This is because ASN considers
that Andra’s role in the approvals issuing process and
in monitoring the waste package producers is vital in
guaranteeing the package quality necessary to comply
with the safety case of the waste repositories.
1.2.3 Drafting recommendations for sustainable
waste management
ASN issues opinions on the studies submitted in
application of the Decree setting the requirements of
the PNGMDR. ASN can also give the Government its
recommendations concerning the disposal projects for
long-lived radioactive waste.
1.2.4 Developing the regulatory framework
and issuing prescriptions to the licensees
ASN can issue statutory resolutions. Thus, the provisions
of the Order of 7th February 2012 defining the
general regulations applicable to BNIs concerning the
management of radioactive waste have been applied in
ASN resolutions on the subjects of waste management in
BNIs and the packing of waste. Other ASN resolutions may
detail, among other things, the prescriptions applicable
to the storage of radioactive waste and to the facilities
intended for its disposal.
Lastly, ASN is consulted for its opinion on draft regulatory
texts relative to radioactive waste management.
More generally, ASN issues requirements relative to the
management of waste from the BNIs. These requirements
are set out in ASN resolutions which are subject to public
consultation and published on its web site.
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CHAPTER 16:
RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND CONTAMINATED SITES AND SOILS
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015