On January 16th, Andra submitted the construction licence application (DAC) of Cigeo, the French project for deep geological disposal of the most highly radioactive waste, to the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
Cigéo is the French project for a deep geological clay repository for high-level (HL) and medium-level long-lived waste (HLW). This projet is led by Andra and consists of a industrial geological disposal center located on the border of the Meuse and Haute-Marne departments. The so-called “reference” inventory planned for Cigéo amounts to 83,000 m³ of radioactive waste (73,000 m3 of HLW and 10,000 m3 of HLW). This inventory takes into account all the waste already produced and to be produced until the end of the operation of French nuclear facilities that obtained their creation license before 2016. In order to ensure that the repository will be able to adapt to different scenarios of changes in French energy policy, Andra also presents in its report adaptability studies for Cigéo, so that it can eventually handle waste currently listed in a so-called “reserve” inventory.
IRSN will be asked by the authorities at the beginning of 2023 to examine this report. An opening to society is already planned with a technical dialogue throughout the instruction. IRSN’s opinions will be presented to the expert advisory group on waste (GPD) of the nuclear safety authority (ASN). The overall process of technical instruction and public consultation is estimated at this stage to take about five years.
See the Andra website for more information on the DAC: Submission of the application for authorization to create Cigéo | Andra international