ASN issues an opinion on the documents produced by ANDRA since 2009 concerning the project of deep geological disposal facility of radioactive waste

ASN is issuing an opinion on three dossiers submitted by ANDRA (French National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management) between 2010 and 2012:

• the Waste Management Industrial Programme (PIGD);
• the results of the "seismic 3D"¹reconnaissance campaign carried out in 2010;
• the studies on the long-term behaviour of spent fuel from EDF reactors under disposal conditions (report issued as part of the PNGMDR (French National Radioactive Material and Waste Management Plan) for 2010-2012;

along with an opinion on ANDRA's responses further to an independent study carried out at the request of the Bure CLIS (local information and monitoring committee) by an American institute, the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER).

ASN developed its opinion with the support of the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) and the Advisory Committee of Experts for waste.

In this opinion, ASN firstly reiterates the general principles that ANDRA must comply with in the conception of the project for which it is responsible, and then presents the requirements applicable to the waste inventory to be considered in the application file for authorisation to create a deep geological disposal facility, if it is decided to continue this process.

ASN particularly emphasises the importance of presenting the stakeholders with the potential changes in the inventory if upper bound hypotheses are considered, depending on the possible choices in terms of energy policy, particularly with regard to the spent fuel disposal issue.

It must be borne in mind that ASN has issued opinions on the ANDRA's studies and work relating to the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste since 1991².

In these various opinions ASN has, in particular, specified the information required for a potential authorisation.

• Read ASN opinion 2013-AV-0179 of 16^th May 2013 on the documents produced by ANDRA since 2009 concerning the project for deep geological disposal facility of radioactive waste [in french] .
• ASN guide of 12^th February 2008 relative to the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste ;
• ASN opinion of 1^st February 2006 on research relating to the management of high-level long-lived waste
• ASN opinion 2010-AV-2011-0118 of 10^th May 2011[in french]
• ASN opinion 2011-AV-129 of 26^th July 2011 [in french]