Particular case of bituminised waste The management of bituminised waste is moreover monitored under the PNGMDR, which demands several studies relative to the characterisation of these packages, their conditions of transport and the treatment possibilities (Articles 46, 47 and 48 of the Order of 23 February 2017). In 2019, ASN made additional information requests(9) to the waste producers and to Andra further to the examination of the study submitted under Article 46. The requests focus more specifically on the effect of self-irradiation on the thermal behaviour of the bituminised waste packages, on the thermal reactivity of the bituminised coatings, on the long-term swelling considering the long-term behaviour of the Cigéo repository and on the design changes to control the risks associated with the disposal of packages of bituminised waste. The Minister responsible for energy and ASN moreover wanted an independent multidisciplinary assessment drawing on international practices to be conducted on this issue. The conclusions of this assessment were presented to the working group tasked with monitoring the PNGMDR in September 2019. ASN considers in this respect in its opinion 2020-AV-0369 of 1 December 2020 that in view of the conclusions of the third-party review of the management of bituminised waste and the studies on the changes in design of the Cigéo ILW-LL waste disposal cells, which highlight new technical factors since the publication of the opinion of 11 January 2018, it is essential for the waste producers to conduct an ambitious programme to characterise the bituminised waste packages in order to demonstrate that all or part of these packages could be emplaced with a high level of safety in the projected Cigéo facility without prior treatment. ASN considers moreover that the bituminised waste packages whose safety once emplaced in the disposal facility could not be demonstrated must undergo further investigations. The CEA informed ASN of the launching in 2021 of a new “quadripartite” studies programme (grouping Andra and the three major licensees), aiming to enrich reflections on the methods of managing bituminised waste by contributing elements stemming from the research and development work. ASN welcomed this initiative, on which it made remarks in 2022, and will follow the progress of this programme which will span five years. From the Safety Options Dossier to the creation authorisation application At present, Andra is continuing the Cigéo project design and preparing the requisite authorisation applications. Andra filed a Declaration of Public Utility (DUP) application in August 2020. On completion of examination of the dossier, which included a public inquiry from 15 September to 23 October 2021, and after obtaining the opinion of the Council of State in March 2022, the Cigéo project was declared of public utility by Decree 2022‑993 of 7 July 2022, published in the Official Journal on 8 July 2022. During this process, ASN answered questions from the inquiry commissioners concerning certain technical aspects of the Cigéo project. Andra will acquire the status of Cigéo nuclear licensee as soon as the DAC is filed. In 2022, ASN and IRSN continued their discussions with Andra on the question of defining the in-service seismic hazard level, and started discussions with a view to preparing the examination of the DAC. Andra must also integrate the results of the bituminised waste review in its DAC file, particularly with regard to the architecture of the ILW-LL waste disposal cells. 9. The follow-up letters are available on the ASN website under the heading “ASN informs”, “Educational files”, “Management of radioactive waste”, “French National Radioactive Material and Waste Management Plan”, “PNGMDR 2016-2018”. In the public debate relative to the fifth edition of the PNGMDR, the question of Cigéo governance was identified as requiring closer examination, particularly with regard to the implementation of reversibility and the objectives of the industrial pilot phase. The resolution of 21 February 2020 of the Minister responsible for energy and the ASN Chairman further to the public debate provides that the PNGMDR will specify the conditions of reversibility of the facility, particularly regarding package retrievability, the decision-making milestones of the Cigéo project and the required method of governance in order to be able to review the choices made. It also specifies that the PNGMDR shall define the objectives and success criteria for the industrial pilot phase, the methods of informing the public between two successive updates of the operations master plan provided for in Article L. 542-10-1 of the Environment Code and the methods of involving the public in the decisive development steps of the Cigéo project Provisions that meet the requirements set out in this opinion have been integrated in the draft PNGMDR 2021-2025. The authorisation process for the Creation Authorisation Application filed in early 2023 Further to the filing of the Cigéo DAC on 16 January 2023, ASN initiated the DAC examination process for this deep geological disposal facility, which is regulated in particular by Section 4 of Chapter III of Title IX of Book V of the Environment Code and by Article L. 542‑10‑1 of the Environment Code, specific to this type of facility. Consultation actions In 2022, as part of the implementation of the 5th PNGMDR, ASN began looking into the consultation and information campaigns it would conduct during its examination of the DAC. The implementation of consultations on the Cigéo project, whether by ASN or the other stakeholders, is carried out in collaboration with the Cigéo project consultations monitoring committee, placed under the auspices of the French High Committee for Transparency and Information on Nuclear Safety (HCTISN). The cost of the project On 15 January 2016, in accordance with the procedure stipulated in Article L. 542-12 of the Environment Code and after consideration of ASN’s opinion of February 2015 and the comments of the radioactive waste producers, the Minister responsible for energy issued an Order setting the reference cost of the Cigéo disposal project “at €25 billion under the economic conditions prevailing on 31 December 2011, the year in which the cost evaluation work began”. This Order also specifies that the cost must be updated regularly and at least at the key stages of project development (creation authorisation, commissioning, end of “industrial pilot phase”, periodic safety reviews). 368 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 • 14 • Radioactive waste and contaminated sites and soils 14
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