* See glossary page 34 Radioactive waste: who acts, who oversees? The Ministry responsible for the environment draws up policy and implements the Government’s decisions concerning the civil nuclear sector. In operational terms, radioactive waste management is the responsibility of various actors. THE LONG-TERM MANAGER The French national radioactive waste management agency (Andra) is a public institution responsible for the long-term management of the radioactive waste produced in France. It reports to the Ministries responsible for research, industry and the environment. Its duties are: • to devise and implement lasting management solutions for all categories of radioactive waste, notably high-level waste (HLW), intermediate level long-lived waste (ILW-LL) and low level long-lived waste (LLW-LL), which is currently stored; • take charge of radioactive waste from the nuclear power sector, research, national defence, industry other than nuclear power generation and the medical sector; • operate radioactive waste repositories* while ensuring protection of human health and the environment. PARLIAMENT ANDRA ASN THE REGULATOR AND ITS TECHNICAL SUPPORT ORGANISATION ASN oversees the waste producers and Andra; it examines the BNI* authorisation procedures as related to waste management. It regularly assesses the waste management strategy of each of the major licensees. This approach must take into account all the safety, radiation protection*, waste volume and harmfulness minimisation issues. As part of its general role of technical support for the safety regulators, the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) assesses the safety of all the operations associated with management of the waste from the BNIs. Its role notably consists in analysing all the risks which could arise from the short to the very long term, on current or future disposal facilities. 6 • Les cahiers de l’ASN • May 2024 RADIOACTIVE WASTE UNDER SURVEILLANCE
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