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the waste disposal facilityin the aube district

contentsAndra in the Aube district: an exemplary industrial operator

the waste disposal facility in the aube district (csa)

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low- and intermediate-level, short-lived radioactive waste (lilW-sl)

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the lilW-sl circuit

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Protecting present and future generations

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guardhouse

Public information centre

repository zone

Waste storage building

Mobile shelters

Mechanical building

storm water basin

Waste conditioning building

staff restaurant

CSA

The waste disposal facility in the Aube district is the second surface waste disposal facility built in France.It is located in the Aube district, and has been operated by Andra since 1992.With a footprint of 95 hectares, it is licensed for the disposal

of 1 million cubic metres of low- and intermediate-level, short-lived waste packages. The CSA is located a few kilometres

away another Andra facility, currently in operation for very-low-level waste, and collection and storage of non-nuclear power waste

(the Cires).

For nearly 20 years, Andra’s waste disposal facilities have been developing exemplary industrial activity in the Aube district, in accordance with strict rules

and procedures, and full transparancy, with the constant aim of protecting man and the environment.

To find out all about the centres and understant how radioactive waste is managed, you are welcome to visit the Andra's waste disposal facilities in the Aube district, and really see what happens in these active industrial installation.

Patrice torresDirector of Andra’s waste disposal facilities in the Aube district

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What is aNdra?

The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs-Andra) is a public industrial and commercial establishement. Placed under the supervision of the respective ministers for energy, research and the environment, it is responsible for implementing and guaranteeing safe solutions for protecting current and future generations from the risks of french radioactive waste.

CSA

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the waste disposal facility in the aube district (csa)the csa is located on land spreading across three municipalities in the aube district: soulaines-dhuys, epothémont and la ville-aux-Bois. it covers 95 hectares, 30 of which are dedicated for disposal.

this surface disposal facility is designed to receive low- and intermediate-level, short-lived radioactive waste (lilW-sl)

Key Figures • 1 million m3 licensed disposal capacity

• 267,496 m3 of waste in the disposal facility by the end of 2012 (26.7% of the total licenced capacity)

• 116 disposal structures closed as at the end of 2012 (about 420 are planned in due course)

Until the end of 1994, LILW-SL was stored in the Manche disposal facility (CSM).

in the 1980’s, the government decided that a second disposal facility was needed to take over from the csM. Preliminary research was then carried out in four districts (Aube, Indre, Haute-Vienne and Maine-et-Loire).

in 1987, the aube site was chosen for extensive geological survey. in 1989, a decree authorised the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), of which Andra was a part at the time, to create a radioactive waste disposal facility there.

Based on its experience acquired over a quarter of a century of operating the CSM, the csa was commissioned in 1992.

Waste disposed of at CSA is conditioned in concrete

or metal packages. Waste packages are placed in reinforced concrete repository structures 25 metres square and 8 metres high, that

are constructed as needed. Once they are filled,

the structures are closed with a concrete slab and

then sealed with an impermeable coat. At the end

of operation, a cap formed mainly of clay will be

placed over the structures to ensure long-term waste

containment.

once the authorized limit (one million cubic metres) has been reached, the csa waste disposal facility will be monitored for at least 300 years.

HOW IS LILW-SL DISPOSED OF?TRANSITION FROM THE CSMTO THE CSA WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY

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a basic nuclear installation (iNB)

The waste disposal facility in the Aube district

(CSA) is classified as a basic nuclear installation

(French acronym INB). It is regulated by the

French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) which

carries out a number of inspections on the site

every year.

in accordance with the Nuclear transparency and security act, a local information commission (cli) was set up to monitor the disposal facility’s activities and regulary inform local elected officials and the neighbouring population of its operations.

CSA

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Why disPosal?Radioactivity is a phenomenon which decays naturally with time. in order to isolate radioactive waste for as long as it represents a hazard for man and the environment, France, like many other countries, has opted, for more than 40 years, to dispose of it in facilities that are adapted for each type of waste.To facilitate management, radioactive waste is classified according to five categories based on level of radioactivity and half-life.The principle of disposal consists in isolating the waste for a sufficiently long period of time to ensure that the radioactivity in contact with humans no longer presents a health hazard due to natural decay.

three disposal solutions are currently planned in France to take over all radioactive waste:

surface repositories

near-surface repositories (under design)

deep repositories (under design)

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Three disposal solutions planned in France

Emplacing metallic drums

Aerial view of the disposal structures 2

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low- and intermediate-level, short-lived radioactive waste (lilW-sl)

LILW-SL is mainly (for up to three-quarters) made up of small equipment (gloves, clothing, tools, etc.)

contaminated during maintenance and operation

of French nuclear power plants. Such waste also

comes from hospital, university and research centres,

cleanup operations of sites polluted by radioactivity

and the dismantling of nuclear facilities.

This waste mainly contains short-lived radionuclides

(half-life less than or equal to 31 years). It may also

contain long-lived radionuclides in very limited

quantities. Due to radioactive decay, the impact of

short-lived radioactive waste is negligible after 300 years.

According to Andra’s National Inventory of Radioactive Materials and Waste 2012, as at the end of 2010, lilW-sl accounted for 63% of the total volume of radioactive waste produced in France, or 830,000 m3 and 0.02% of the total radioactivity of radioactive waste in France.

At the end of 2012, 267,496 m3 of radioactive waste had already been placed in the CSA and 527,225 m3 in the Manche disposal facility (CSM).

WHERE DOES LILW-SL COME FROM?

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Five categories of radioactive waste

Radioactive waste can be classified according to a number of criteria: origin, physical and chemical nature, level and type of radioactivity, lifetime, etc.In France, radioactive waste is managed according to classification based on the following:

- its radioactivity expressed in becquerels (Bq) per gram. The radioactivity (or simply "activity") of waste can be very-low, low, intermediate or high level.

- its lifetime, which depends on the half-life of each radionuclides it contains. Waste whose radioactivity mainly comes from short-lived radionuclides (half-life ≤ 31 years) is referred to as short-lived waste, while waste with a significant quantity of long-lived radionuclides (half-life > 31 years) is referred to as long-lived waste.

there are five categories of radioactive waste:

• very low-level waste (VLLW)

• short-lived low- and intermediate-level waste (LILW-SL)

• long-lived low-level waste (LLW-LL)

• long-lived intermediate-level waste (ILW-LL)

• high-level waste (HLW)

Some waste, mainly hospital waste, have a half-life of less than 100 days.Because of its very short half-life, such waste is stored on site until its radioactivity has decayed away naturally, which takes from a few days to a few months, long enough for the radioactivity to naturally decay.

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CSA

What is radioactive Waste?The term radioactive waste refers to substances for which there is no planned or intended use.

In France, radioactive waste is produced by various economic activities involving the use of radioactive materials. It is managed through the implementation of specific processes.

distribution of French radioactive waste produced according to economic sector:

Nuclear power industry 59%

Research 26%

Defence industry 11%

Conventional industry (excluding nuclear power) 3%

Medical field 1%

Use of a radioactive product in a laboratory

Drum containing scintillation vials

Concrete package cut open to check the contents

(source: National Inventory of Nuclear Materialsand Radioactive Waste, 2012)

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did you know Radioactivity is a phenomenon that has occured naturally in the environment since the Earth was first created. It is present in water, air, rock and even the human body. It decays naturally with time, at a rate depending on the radionuclides present.

The half-life is the time taken for half of the initial quantity

of a given radionuclide to decay.

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➡the lilW-sl circuitthe waste circuit from production to disposal comprises several steps, each requiring strict and rigorous inspection.

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Package preparation

Before it reaches in the disposal facility, most of the waste is treated (compacted, solidified, etc.) and packaged (in a metal or concrete container) by the producers.

After packaging, a package of LILW-SL consists of 15 to 20% of radioactive waste and 80 to 85% of encapsulating material (grout).

Production

LILW-SL mainly comes from the nuclear power generating industry, but also from hospitals, university and research centres and from clean-up and decommissioning operations.

delivery of packages to the csaThe packages are transported from the producers' permise to the Andra disposal facility by road or rail, in compliance with strict international regulations (transport is the responsability of the producers).Annual average: six trucks per workday.

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arrival at the disposal facility

An administration check on the delivery and a radiological check on the packages are carried out when they arrive at the disposal facility.

Each package is marked with a barcode, a sort of ID card giving the nature, content and origin of the package.

Processing of certain packages before disposal

• Certain metal drums (containing plastic, gloves, etc.) are compacted in order to reduce the volume.

and

• Grout is injected into large metal containers for the more bulky.

disposal Every year, about 12,000 m3 of packages are placed of in the concrete structures of the CSA.

Metal containers

Radiological inspection of a package on arrival at the disposal facility

Placing a concrete package in a disposal cell

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Le CSA

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Protecting present and future generationsto ensure that the disposal facility has low an impact as possible on man and the environment, andra carries out regular and thorough monitoring.

According to the regulations, the annual dose of

radioactivity from industrial activities must be as low

as possible and may not exceed 1 milliSievert (mSv)

for the population.

To ensure that the impact of its activities is as small

as possible in and around the disposal facility, the CSA takes more than 14,000 measurements every year. These include:

• radiological checks on air, water, sediment

in the nearby streams, plants and the food chain;

• physical-chemical checks on water;

• ecological checks on fauna, flora and aquatic

habitats.

Every year, Andra publishes a report presenting the

results achieved in terms of nuclear safety, radiation

protection and environmental monitoring.

These results are available on Andra's web site and

upon request.

Furthermore, since 2009, andra has been an active member of the 'National network for the measurement of environmental radioactivity' and concerning this disposal facility, it sends in about

350 measurement results every month, which are

then published on the www.mesure-radioactivite.fr national website.

At the end of its operating life, surveillance of the

disposal facility will continue, for at least 300 years, until it has reached a level of safety requiring no

further human intervention.

* Evaluation based on a hypothetical most exposed group.

The radiological impact of the CSA for the year 2012 is evaluated at 0.0013 microSieverts (µSv)*, or less than 100,000 times less than the regulatory limit and hence the same fraction of the average impact of natural radioactivity in France.

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

MONITORING OVER SEVERAL CENTURIES

did you know 1 msv per year (millisievert) is the maximum allowable annual dose for the population.

this is equivalent to

• 3 lung X-rays

• 9 months spent in a granitic region

• 1 year at an altitude of 1,500 metres

• 17 months in the Paris region

• 7 roundtrip flights between Paris and San Francisco.

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Collecting filters to check air quality

Piezometric monitoring to check water quality

Device capable of trapping tritium or carbon-14 present in the air

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conserving and handling down the history of the disposal facility

To enable future generations to understand the choices

we have made, change them if they want to, and take

any corrective measures they consider necessary, it

is important for them to have access to the essential

information concerning the disposal facility (origin,

content, etc.). andra has taken steps to conserve the history of the disposal facility and ensure that it is readily available for several centuries.This includes preparation of a precis (with a brief

description for the general public, illustrations, etc.)

and a detailed record (with complete reports, technical

plans, inventories, etc.). The detailed record is printed

on permanent paper (lifetime from 600 to 1,000 years)

and kept in the French National Archives, as well as in a

dedicated room inside the disposal facility.

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Le CSA

©An

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DC

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• Ju

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Roge

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P. M

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(MED

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, D. V

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FreNch NatioNal radioactiveWaste MaNageMeNt ageNcy

andra Waste disposal Facilities in the aube department BP 7 •F. 10200 Soulaines-Dhuys • France

www.andra.fr/international

guided tours of andra's radioactive wastemanagement and disposal facilities in the aube

district can be scheduled Monday to Friday(except public holidays) by making an appointment in advance

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CALL toll-Free FroM a FreNch laNdliNe

toll-Free FroM a FreNch laNdliNe