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of natural sources of radiation that lead to a notable
increase in the exposure of workers or the public, and
therefore including the activities of industries involving
enhanced natural radioactivity. Their scope of application
will extend to substances, products and materials that
naturally contain radionuclides (potassium-40 and chains
of uranium-238 and 235 and of thorium-232) at a level
necessitating a radiation protection verification. The
currently applicable regulations concerning activities
involving enhanced natural radioactivity could therefore
be modified or supplemented within the framework
of this transposition.
1.6.3 Management of mining residues and mining
waste rock from the old uraniummines
Uraniummines were worked in France between 1948 and
2001, producing 76,000 tons of uranium. Exploration,
mining and processing work was carried out on about
250 sites in France spread over 27
départements
. Ore
processing was carried out in 8 plants. The former
uraniummines are now almost all under the responsibility
of Areva Mines.
The working of uraniummines 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 167million 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. The radioactivity
measurements carried out on the disposal sites give
values of the same order as the measurements taken
in the environment of the site.
The regulatory context
Theuraniummines and their annexes, and their conditions
of closure, are covered by the mining code.
The disposal facilities for radioactive mining tailings are
governed by section 1735 of the ICPE nomenclature.
Furthermore, theMinister of theEnvironment and theASN
Chairman issued a circular on 22nd July 2009 defining
a plan of action relative to the management of the former
uraniummines comprising the following lines of work:
•
monitor the former mining sites;
•
improve understanding of the environmental andhealth
impactoftheformeruraniumminesandtheirsurveillance;
•
manage the mining waste rock (better identify the uses
and reduce impacts if necessary);
•
reinforce information and consultation.
Most of the mining waste rock remains on the site where
it was produced (mine in-fill, redevelopment work or
spoil heaps). Nonetheless, 1 to 2% of the mining waste
rockmay have been used as backfill, in earthworks or for
road beds in public places situated near themining sites.
Although the transfer of waste rock to the public domain
has been traced since 1984, knowledge of transfers prior
to 1984 remains incomplete. ASN and the Ministry of
the Environment, in the framework of the action plan
of the Circular of 22nd July 2009, asked Areva Mines
to inventory the mining waste rock reused in the public
domain in order to verify the compatibility of uses and
to reduce the impacts if necessary.
Areva Mines has thus deployed a plan of action comprising
three broad phases:
•
aerial overflight around the former French mining
sites to identify radiological singularities;
•
inspection on the ground of areas identified in the
overflight to confirm the presence of waste rock;
•
treatment of areas of interest incompatible with the
land usage.
The second phase of this action plan was completed in
2014. The DGPR defined the procedures for managing
cases of confirmed presence of mining waste rock in its
Instruction to Prefects of 8th August 2013. The resulting
inventory maps are provisional maps submitted for
public consultation. Members of the public are asked to
communicate their observations to correct or supplement
the maps on the basis of their memory of the utilisations
of waste rock, where applicable. The definitive maps are
associatedwith remediation action proposals if necessary.
Some work has already been carried out on priority sites
in 2015, that is to say sites where the calculation of the
added annual effective dose excluding radon due to the
presence of waste rock on generic scenarios exceeds the
value of 0.6mSv/year on the basis of a radiological impact
study. All these operations are under the administrative
surveillance of the Prefect, on the basis of proposals from
the Regional directorate for the environment, planning
and housing (Dreal). ASN provides assistance for the
radiation protection of workers and the public and the
management routes. In this context it encourages the
complete clean-out of the sites when this is technically
possible and asks that any other procedure implemented
be justified with regard to this strategy. Furthermore, it
is particularly vigilant to cases that could result in the
exposure of persons, particularly to radon, in order to
identify and deal with any cases similar to that of the
house of Bessines-sur-Gartempe. Lastly, it ensures that
the actions are carried out in complete transparency with
maximum involvement of the local actors.
The long-term behaviour of the mining residue
disposal sites
Redevelopment of the uranium processing tailings
disposal sites consisted in placing a solid cover over
the tailings to provide a protective barrier to limit the
risks of intrusion, erosion, dispersion of the stored
products and the risks of external and internal (radon)
exposure of the surrounding populations.
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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