Packaging Radioactive waste packaging consists in placing the waste in a package which provides a first containment barrier preventing radioactive substances being dispersed in the environment. The techniques used depend on the physical-chemical characteristic of the waste and their typology, which explains the large variety of packages used. These packages are subject to approvals by Andra if they are intended for existing disposal facilities, and to packaging agreements by ASN if they are intended to be directed towards disposal facilities still under study. In some cases the packaging operations are carried out directly on the site of waste production, but they can also take place in dedicated facilities, like the La Hague plants, which package spent fuel hulls and end-pieces in “standard compacted waste containers” (CSD-C packages), and the fission products in stainless steel “standard vitrified waste containers” (CSD-V packages), and the effluent treatment stations such as the Stella station in BNI 35. The waste packages are sometimes packaged in the facilities in which they are to be stored, which will be the case for the ILW-SL waste packages in the Iceda facility, or directly in a disposal facility, such as Cires and CSA, which carry out these operations on a portion of the incoming packages. Storage Storage, as defined by Article L. 542-1-1 of the Environment Code, is a temporary management solution for radioactive waste. The waste is kept in storage for a limited period (which can extend to 50 years) pending its transfer to disposal, or in order to achieve a sufficient level of radioactive decay to enable it to be sent to conventional waste management routes in the particular case of very short-lived waste, which comes chiefly from the medical sector. Some facilities (see below) are specifically dedicated to the storage of radioactive waste, such as Ecrin, commissioned in 2018, and Cedra and Iceda, commissioned in 2020. This will also be the case with Diadem once this facility is commissioned around 2024. As for the CSD-C and CSD-V packages, they are stored directly in various facilities on the La Hague site pending commissioning of the deep geological repository for HL and ILW-LL waste planned for 2035. Research and Development Support facilities are used for research and development work to optimise radioactive waste management. Among these, the Chicade facility (BNI 156) operated by the CEA on the Cadarache site conducts research and development work in low-level and intermediate-level objects and waste. This work primarily concerns aqueous waste treatment processes, decontamination processes, solid waste packaging methods and the expert assessment and inspection of waste packages. 2.1.3 Oversight of the packaging of waste packages Regulations The Order of 7 February 2012 defines the requirements associated with waste 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 resolution 2017-DC-0587 of 23 March 2017 specifies the requirements regarding waste packaging for disposal and the conditions of acceptance of waste packages in the disposal BNIs. 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 issues 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 and monitoring 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, HLW-LL or ILW-LL waste. Under these conditions, the production of packages of these types of waste is subject to ASN approval on the basis of a file established by the waste producer called “packaging baseline requirements”. This file must demonstrate that on the basis of existing knowledge and the currently identified requirements of the disposal facilities still under study, the packages display no unacceptable behaviour, and concerning, for example, the geometry and the maximum masses of the packages, waste that is prohibited or subject to restriction or the dose rate or radiological activity limits. This provision also avoids delaying Waste Retrieval and Packaging (WRP) operations. Within the framework of the PNGMDR 2016-2018, the waste producers were asked to study the acceptability of the waste packages intended for Cigéo. In its opinion 2020-AV-0369 of 1 December 2020, and in a letter of 23 July 2021, ASN made several observations relative to the methodology for producing these preliminary acceptance specifications for Cigéo, the chosen parameters and the envisaged modes of disposal. It considered in particular that the methodology for producing these preliminary acceptance specifications for Cigéo was satisfactory. It nevertheless noted that several parameters, qualitative in particular, should be consolidated in order to facilitate their verification. Furthermore, as the producers’ analysis of package acceptability could only be considered as partial, notably in view of the chosen mode of disposal, it will have to be carried out again on the basis of the next version of the preliminary acceptance specifications for Cigéo, which will be presented when the DAC for this facility is filed. Checks and inspections Alongside Andra’s surveillance of approved packages, ASN checks the measures taken by the licensee to correctly implement the requirements of the authorisation and to master the packaging processes. For waste packages intended for disposal facilities still under study, ASN is particularly attentive to ensuring that the packages comply with the conditions of the issued packaging approvals. ASN also ensures through inspections that Andra takes the necessary measures to verify the quality of the packages accepted in its disposal facilities. This is because ASN considers that Andra’s role in the approvals issuing process and in monitoring the measures taken by the waste package producers is vital in guaranteeing package quality and compliance with the safety case of the waste repositories. 370 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 • 14 • Radioactive waste and contaminated sites and soils 14
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NjQ0NzU=