Breakdown of waste volume by economic sector (in conditioned equivalent) already disposed of or to be entrusted to Andra, as at end 2021 35% of the total volume of radioactive waste is very low‑level (VLL) It comes primarily from the dismantling of nuclear installations and consists of rubble, earth, scrap with very little contamination. It is disposed of in surface repositories. 55% of the total volume of radioactive waste is short-lived It loses half of its radioactivity in periods of 30 years or less. After 300 years, its residual radioactivity is close to natural radioactivity levels. It contains about 0.1% of the total radioactivity. It comes primarily from the operation and maintenance of the nuclear power plants. It is disposed of in surface repositories. 8% of the total volume of radioactive waste is long-lived It can remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. 2.5% of it contains 99.8% of the total radioactivity. It comes primarily from the reprocessing* of spent nuclear fuel*. It is conditioned (vitrified) and stored at La Hague, and is intended for disposal at depth. 6% is low-level waste. It comes from various activities, most of which date from far in the past. It is stored, pending the definition of a management solution. A dedicated repository is currently being studied. 5.9% 55.7% 35.9% 2.3% 0.2% Radioactive waste volume Level of radioactivity HLW VLLW 0.0004% LL/ ILW-SL 0.12% LLW-LL 0.01% ILW-LL 2.67% 97.2% It should be noted that more than 90% of the volume of the radioactive waste is VLLW and LLW/ILW-SL waste, in other words, the least dangerous. MEDICAL 0.5% INDUSTRY UNRELATED TO NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION 3.3% DEFENCE 8.7% RESEARCH 26.6% NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION 60.9% Breakdown of volumes and levels of radioactivity as at end 2021 Source: National inventory of radioactive waste, Andra, 2023. Radioactive waste • 11
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