ASN Report 2020

The contamination spectrum of this waste is also wide with, in particular, the presence of alpha emitters in activities relating to fuel cycle research and beta-gamma emitters in operational waste from the experimental reactors. The CEA has specific facilities for managing this waste (proces­ sing, packaging and storage). Some of them are shared between all the CEA centres, such as the liquid effluent treatment station in Marcoule or the solid waste treatment station in Cadarache. The issues and implications The main issues for the CEA with regard to radioactive waste management are: ∙ the renovation of existing facilities or commissioning of new facilities for the processing, packaging and storage of the effluents, spent fuel and waste under satisfactory conditions of safety and radiation protection and within time frames compatible with the commitments made for shutting down old facilities which no longer meet current safety requirements; ∙ the management of legacy waste retrieval and packaging projects. ASN notes the difficulty the CEA has in fully managing these issues and conducting all the associated projects, especially decommissioning projects, at the same time. ASN’s examination of the CEA’s waste management strategy ASN’s previous examination of the CEA’s strategy, which was concluded in 2012, had shown that waste management on the whole had improved since the examination carried out in 1999. ASN nevertheless observed that certain aspects of the strategy required improvement, particularly with regard to the manage­ ment of intermediate-level long-lived solid waste and low or intermediate-level liquid waste, which therefore had to be consoli­ dated. At the joint request of ASN and ASND, the CEA conducted an overall review of its decommissioning and radioactive waste management strategy and submitted the results of this work in December 2016. After examining this report, the two Authorities gave a joint opinion on this strategy in May 2019. ASN and ASND consider that the CEA’s facility decommissioning strategy and its updating of the waste and material management strategy are the result of an in-depth review and analysis. It appears acceptable for the CEA to envisage staggering the decommissioning operations in view of the resources allocated by the State and the large number of facilities undergoing decommissioning, for which waste retrieval and storage capacities will have to be built. With regard to the material and waste management strategy, the two Authorities observe several vulnerabilities in the CEA’s strategy, due in particular to the envisaged sharing of resources between centres, for the management of liquid radioactive effluents or solid radioactive waste for example, which means that for some operations, only a single facility will be available. The two Authorities also note uncertainties concerning the management of spent fuels or irradiated materials, which will have to be clarified. ASN and ASND have therefore addressed several demands of the CEA with the aim of limiting these vulnerabilities, consolidating its strategy and detailing the operations schedule. They demanded that the CEA make regular progress reports on the decommissioning and waste management projects, and ensure regular communication with the public, applying procedures appropriate to the nature of the facilities, civil or defence. Lastly, they want special measures to be implemented to monitor the progress of these projects. Monitoring implementation of the CEA waste management strategy In 2019 and 2020, ASN had regular dedicated interchanges with the DGEC, ASND and the CEA to reinforce progress monitoring on the priority projects. ASN notes the difficulty the CEA has in fully managing these issues and conducting concomitantly all the associated projects, whether they concern decommissioning or waste management support facilities. ASN notes that the deadlines for a large number of priority projects have changed significantly since the file was submitted in 2016. It will therefore apply increased vigilance to the management and monitoring of these projects in 2021. 2.4  Orano’s waste management strategy and its assessment by ASN The spent fuel reprocessing plant at the La Hague site presents the main radioactive waste management issues for Orano. The waste on the La Hague site comprises on the one hand waste resulting from reprocessing of the spent fuel, which generally comes from NPPs but also from research reactors, and on the other, waste resulting from operation of the various facilities on the site. Most of this waste remains the property of the licensees – whether French or foreign – who have their spent fuel reprocessed. French waste is directed to the management routes described earlier, whereas foreign waste is sent back to its country of origin. On the Tricastin site, Orano also produces waste associated with the front-end activities of the cycle (production of nuclear fuel), essentially contaminated by alpha emitters. In mid-2016, Orano (formerly Areva) submitted to ASN and ASND a file presenting the decommissioning and waste management strategy for the group’s installations in France and its practical application on the La Hague and Tricastin sites. This file, for which additional elements were received in 2017, is currently being examined. Moreover, Orano submitted general and particular commitments for the La Hague and Tricastin sites in 2018. In order to verify Orano’s ability to meet the deadlines of its strategy, ASN initiated an innovative project management inspection procedure in 2019. The issues and implications The main issues relating to the management of waste produced by Orano concern in particular: ∙ the safety of the legacy waste storage facilities. On the La Hague site, the facilities dedicated to legacy waste retrieval, packaging and storage have to be designed, built and then commissioned. These complex projects meet with technical difficulties which can make it necessary to adjust deadlines set by ASN (see chapter 13). Furthermore, the on-site storage capacities must be estimated with conservative margins in order to prevent premature filling to capacity. 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; ∙ the defining of solutions for waste packaging, in particular the legacy waste. These solutions require the prior approval of ASN in accordance with 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 programmes to demonstrate the feasibility of the chosen packaging processes and to identify sufficiently early the risks that could significantly affect the 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 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2020 369 14 – RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND CONTAMINATED SITES AND SOILS 14