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The management of sealed sources considered as
waste, and their disposal in particular, must take
into consideration the dual constraint of concentrated
activity and a potentially attractive nature in the event of
human intrusion after loss of the memory of a disposal
facility. This therefore limits the types of sources that
can be accepted in disposal facilities, especially surface
facilities.
As required by the 2013-2015 PNGMDR, CEA (which
ensured secretary ship of a working group led jointly by
the DGPR - General Directorate for Risk Prevention, and
the DGEC - General Directorate for Energy and Climate)
submitted a work synthesis report to the Government
at the end of 2014, covering:
•
continuation of Andra’s study of the conditions of
acceptance of these sealed sources in disposal facilities;
•
consolidatedbatching of used sealed sources in order to
determine a reference solution for each batch;
•
with regard to the existing disposal centres, Andra’s
assessment of the conditions for acceptance of disused
sealed sources, if necessary modifying the acceptance
specifications but without compromising the safety of
the disposal centres;
•
a study of the requirements in terms of treatment and
packaging facilities to enable them to be accepted in
existing or planned disposal centres;
•
a study of the requirements in terms of interim storage
facilities;
•
optimised technical and economic planning of the
conditions for acceptance and elimination of disused
sealed sources, in the light of the availabilityof processing,
storage anddisposal facilities and transport constraints.
Furthermore, Decree 2015-231 of 27th February 2015
enables holders of disused sealed sources to call upon
not only the initial source supplier but also any licensed
supplier or - as a last resort - Andra, to manage these
sources. These provisions should bring a reduction in
the costs of collecting disused sources and provide a
recovery route in all situations.
Management by Andra of waste from non-BNI
nuclear activities
Article L. 542-12 of the Environment Code entrusts
Andra with a public service mission for waste produced
by small-scale nuclear activities. Yet until 2012
Andra was not equipped with its own facilities for
the management of waste from small-scale nuclear
activities. Consequently, Andra made agreements with
other nuclear licensees, and CEA in particular, which
stores waste on the Saclay site.
Andra started reconfiguring the route in 2012 by creating
at CIRES, situated in the towns of Morvilliers and
La Chaise, a collection centre and a storage facility for
waste from small producers other than nuclear power
plants. Nevertheless, the tritiated solid waste will be
managed in a storage facility operated by CEA and
pooled with the waste from ITER (INTERMED project).
ASN considers that the approach adopted by Andra will
be sufficient to meet the duties entrusted to it under
Article L. 542- 12 of the Environment Code and that
this must be continued.
1.6.2 Management of waste containing enhanced
natural radioactivity
Some professional activities using raw materials which
naturally contain radionuclides but which are not used
for their radioactive properties, may lead to an increase
in specific activity in the resulting products, residues
or waste. This is known as technologically enhanced
natural radioactivity. The majority of these activities are
(or were) regulated by the ICPE regime and are listed
by the order of 25th May 2005 concerning professional
activities involving rawmaterials that naturally contain
radionuclides andwhich are not used for their radioactive
properties.
Waste containing enhanced natural radioactivity can be
accepted in various types of facilities, depending on its
specific activity:
•
in a waste disposal facility authorised by prefectural
order if the conditions of acceptance provided for in the
circular of 25th July2006 relative to classified installations
“Acceptanceofwastecontainingenhancedorconcentrated
natural radioactivity in the waste disposal facilities” are
fulfilled;
•
in the very low level waste disposal facility, CIRES;
•
in a storage facility. Some of this waste is waiting for a
disposal route, in particular the commissioning of a
disposal centre for long-lived, low level waste.
Four hazardous waste disposal facilities are authorised to
receive waste containing enhanced natural radioactivity,
namely:
•
Villeparisis in Ile-de-France, authorised until
31st December 2020, for an annual capacity of
250,000 t/year;
•
Bellegarde in Languedoc-Roussillon, authorised until
4th February 2029, for an annual capacity of 250,000 t/
year until 2018 and 105,000 t/year beyond this;
•
Champteussé-sur-Baconne in Pays de la Loire,
authorised until 2049, for an annual capacity of
55,000 t/year;
•
Argences in Basse-Normandie, authorised until 2023,
for an annual capacity of 30,000 t/year.
The 2013-2015 PNGMDR required the implementation
of regulatory changes in order to improve knowledge
of the deposits of enhanced naturally radioactive waste
and improve its traceability.
The transposition of Directive 2013/59/Euratom of
5th December 2013 setting the basic standards for
radiation protection provides for a reinforcement of
the provisions applicable to radiation of natural origin,
and notably to human activities involving the presence
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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