Andra
the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency
• Over 40 years of experience • Disposal solutions suitable / adapted for all types of radioactive waste
Andra’s solutions and experience For more than 40 years Andra has been responsible for managing all radioactive waste generated in France,> mainly by nuclear installations like reactors and nuclear-related facilities.> Andra has developed and demonstrated various concepts and methodologies for a large variety of waste categories,> notably for low- and intermediate-level short-lived (LL/IL-SL) and very-low-level (VLL) waste.> These concepts are flexible enough to accommodate new waste types and forms throughout the operation of disposal facilities.
French national radioactive waste management agency
Waste resulting
from the maintenance and dismantling of nuclear facilities
Andra has already successfully addressed with a large number of dismantling issues, such as:
>> Identification of a quantitative and radiological inventory of VLL dismantling waste, followed by the design and operation of adapted disposal facilities for VLL waste (CIRES) and for low- and intermediate-level (LIL) waste (CSA), both located in the Aube district; >> Dealing with large components as PWR vessel-heads and steam-generators respectively disposed of at the CSA (LIL-SLW facility) and the CIRES (VLLW facility), following the analysis of various options.
Placing a concrete package in a disposal cell
NORM & TENORM waste >> In its radwaste management organization, the Agency has accumulated more than 15 years of experience in compiling inventories (notably prospective) and characterizing radioactive waste generated by nuclear power sector but also by the chemical industry and other industrial applications of radioactivity.
>> Andra has also developed disposal solution concepts and methodologies for VLL and “low-level long-lived” LL-LL residues (such as NORM & TENORM radium-bearing waste resulting from industrial activities), as well as residues occupying substantial volumes.
Geological disposal - Cigéo Project >> Andra has over 20 years of experience in the preparation of projects for the implementation of a repository for HL and IL-LL waste. Since the late 1990s, it has been carrying out surveys notably through Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory (URL). The results of the research program were published in the Dossier 2005 in which Andra demonstrated the basic feasibility of deep geological disposal for HL and IL-LL waste and SF, in case if it is required in the future by the French policy that would be consistent with a reversibility rationale. >> The Dossier 2005 was followed by an updated version, Dossier 2009, that included further steps towards siting, by selecting a restricted 30-km2 area. The Cigéo (industrial center for geological disposal) facility project has entered in its licensing process in 2013 with a national public debate.
The license to build the repository is expected by 2019 with a commissioning process launched by 2025. >> Andra has demonstrated its ability to design and to lead the required scientific R&D program to to justify its proposed options and to demonstrate the safety of its solutions, thus ensuring a high added value to its projects. In addition, it also develops various construction and handling methods and processes; the corresponding demonstrators and pilot models that were built and tested by Andra, are now displayed at its Technological Exhibition Centre. >> The Research Program carried out in preparation for the implementation of disposal facilities relies on a detailed knowledge of the waste and of the sites involved, and uses an iterative design method. The performance of the disposal facility and the safety it provides is constantly re-assessed via a series of methods developed by Andra and aim at integrating both the existing knowledge and system analysis. >> For example, the Agency has developed a methodology for the phenomenological analysis of repository situations in order to describe and to analyse any phenomenon likely to occur throughout the evolution of the repository.
Deep geological disposal concept
Radioactive waste management Andra’s competencies include: >> Radioactive waste management policies >> Radioactive waste management strategies: inventories, management plans >> Training >> Communication & public relations >> Management of radioactive waste originating from “small scale nuclear activities” (medical, chemical industry, etc.) >> Environmental monitoring
Radioactive lightning conductor head
Relying on its wide-ranging competences in the field of waste management and disposal, Andra offers multiple solutions, from consultancy and document review, to technology transfer and turnkey projects - to all countries and organizations concerned by the safety and the efficiency of their radwaste management Waste management policies
>> Development of framework for radioactive waste management >> Waste management organization implementation
Waste management strategies
>> National strategy and waste management plans >> National, corporate & site waste inventories >> Waste characterization and tracking >> Waste compliance verification >> Data archiving and site memory
Communication & public relations
>> Stakeholder engagement and communication strategy >> Communications resources: web, edition, video, public debates and consultations
Research and Development
>> Geology, geophysics, rock mechanics, geochemistry, sensors & networks… >> R&D program design & management
Training
>> Specific or generic waste management courses >> Training program design >> Extensive use of Andra facilities and R&D resources
Site remediation
>> Site characterization >> Site clean-up >> Waste management
Disposal facility design: VLLW, LLW, ILW, HLW & Spent Fuel >> Conceptual to detailed design : waste treatment, conditioning and disposal >> Siting of facilities: early bibliographical studies to site characterization management >> Safety analysis: modeling, simulation, studies
Disposal facility licensing
>> Environmental and safety reviews >> Site and waste disposal licence preparation
Disposal facility construction >> Construction management >> Project owner support
Disposal facility operation
>> Waste treatment and packaging facilities design >> Operations and quality reviews and improvements assessment
Disposal facility closure >> Site closure planning >> Safety reviews >> Final site capping design
“Small scale nuclear activities” waste producers
>> Collection, sorting, treatment, packaging and disposal of radioactive waste >> Environmental monitoring
FRENCH NATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT AGENCY 1-7, rue Jean-Monnet 92298 Châtenay-Malabry cedex - France
www.andra.fr
For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
© Andra - 434VB - DCOM/14-0170 - July 2014 - Graphical design and production: Demoniak – Photo credits: P. Maurein - illustrations : Andra / J. Mariez - Printing certified by Imprim’Vert using vegetable inks on partially recycled paper, FSC certified - Distributed free - Not for sale
A unique array of skills and services
Andra
The surface disposal concept for LIL-SL waste
• Over 40 years of experience in disposal concept development, repository design / construction / operation / closure to post-closure monitoring
The Radioactive waste
Most low-level and intermediate-level short-lived (LIL/SL) waste results from the nuclear power industry. Their specific activity level is sufficiently high to justify a protective conditioning and to ensure proper confinement until the activity has decreased to harmless levels for human beings and the environment (several centuries, considering the half lives of the radionuclides contained in LIL-SL waste).
French national radioactive waste management agency
The disposal design The disposal concept for such waste relies on a multi-barrier protection system, each barrier being designed to fulfil different or redundant functions in order to delay or mitigate radionuclide transfers first into the environment and onwards to the population. The originality of the concept pertains to its flexibility, since: >> it is adaptable to various geological environments, and its overall performance can be guaranteed by modulating that of the engineered barriers; >> it is suitable for the disposal of waste packages of different types and sizes, as long as their characteristics are consistent with the acceptance criteria, which are de facto specific to each case.
With its wide-ranging competences in the field of radioactive waste management and disposal, Andra offers multiple solutions, from consultancy and document peer review, to technology transfer and turnkey projects Containment The safety of the disposal facility is guaranteed by the combination of the package, the concrete vaults, the backfill materials between the packages, and the watertight clay cap that will be installed at the end of the operational period of the facility. Such design configuration also takes all natural risks into account. Last, all disposal structures are built away from any potential flood zones and from the highest possible level of the groundwater table.
Disposal The vaults for concrete and metal packages have a slightly different configuration. Once a vault is full, the concrete
packages are immobilised with gravel backfill, whereas the metal packages are blocked in place by the concrete that is poured between them. Once a disposal is filled, it is sealed by a reinforced concrete slab, covered by an impervious plastic membrane in order to ensure the water-tightness of the disposal vault. Ultimately, a final cap will be put in place in order to protect disposal structures against external aggressions.
Monitoring A network of underground galleries has been built under the disposal structures. The first piping network collects rainwater from empty vaults that are not yet in service, and directs them towards the on site storm basin. The second piping network constitutes the so-called “separative gravity-assisted network”, collects any seepage water that may migrate through the disposal structures and directs it towards an external treatment plant, in case of contamination.
The French disposal facility
for low- and intermediate-level short-lived waste (CSFMA-CSA) The disposal concept developed by Andra consists in isolating radioactive materials from the environment for the period required for their radioactive content to decay, until the impact of the disposal facility reaches a level comparable to the impact of naturally-occurring radiation. In order to prevent the dispersion of radioactive elements into the environment, the three following barriers have been designed to isolate the waste : >> the waste package 1 into which the waste is embedded within a concrete, polymer or bitumen matrix ; the disposal structures; the network of underground galleries and the final capping; 2 and the geological environment of the site: 3 an impermeable clay layer covered by a draining layer of sand (on which the disposal structures are built) constitutes a natural barrier to protect the environment in case of accidental releases of radioactive elements towards the groundwater table.
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Relying on its wide-ranging competences in the field of waste management and disposal, Andra offers multiple solutions, from consultancy and document review, to technology transfer and turnkey projects - to all countries and organizations concerned by the safety and the efficiency of their radwaste management Waste management policies
>> Development of framework for radioactive waste management >> Waste management organization implementation
Waste management strategies
>> National strategy and waste management plans >> National, corporate & site waste inventories >> Waste characterization and tracking >> Waste compliance verification >> Data archiving and site memory
Communication & public relations
>> Stakeholder engagement and communication strategy >> Communications resources: web, edition, video, public debates and consultations
Research and Development
>> Geology, geophysics, rock mechanics, geochemistry, sensors & networks… >> R&D program design & management
Training
>> Specific or generic waste management courses >> Training program design >> Extensive use of Andra facilities and R&D resources
Site remediation
>> Site characterization >> Site clean-up >> Waste management
Disposal facility design: VLLW, LLW, ILW, HLW & Spent Fuel >> Conceptual to detailed design : waste treatment, conditioning and disposal >> Siting of facilities: early bibliographical studies to site characterization management >> Safety analysis: modeling, simulation, studies
Disposal facility licensing
>> Environmental and safety reviews >> Site and waste disposal licence preparation
Disposal facility construction >> Construction management >> Project owner support
Disposal facility operation
>> Waste treatment and packaging facilities design >> Operations and quality reviews and improvements assessment
Disposal facility closure >> Site closure planning >> Safety reviews >> Final site capping design
“Small scale nuclear activities” waste producers
>> Collection, sorting, treatment, packaging and disposal of radioactive waste >> Environmental monitoring
FRENCH NATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT AGENCY 1-7, rue Jean-Monnet 92298 Châtenay-Malabry cedex - France
www.andra.fr
For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
© Andra - 434VA - DCOM/14-0173 - July 2014 - Graphical design and production: Demoniak – Photo credits: P. Maurein - illustrations : Andra / J. Mariez - Printing certified by Imprim’Vert using vegetable inks on partially recycled paper, FSC certified - Distributed free - Not for sale
A unique array of skills and services
Andra
The surface disposal concept for VLL waste
• Over 10 years of experience • A reference concept and facility for such waste
Waste
Disposal facilities for very-low-level (VLL) waste have been designed to accommodate both residues originating from the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and used components. Those residues have very low specific-activity levels that lie below a few hundreds of becquerels per gram (Bq/g). As for the average activity found in any disposal facility, it never exceeds more than a few tens of becquerels per gram. In that case, waste disposal involves no special processing or conditioning, except for handling requirements or volume-gain purposes.
French national radioactive waste management agency
Basic disposal concept The main barrier against radionuclide dispersion is provided by the geological formation being used for waste disposal. The design and construction provisions allow for the optimal operation of the disposal facility without any risk of altering the required safety level. They also ensure a satisfactory containment level for several centuries at the end of the
operating lifetime. Hence, the natural materials in their original context constitute a particular advantage for the safety demonstration over the long term.
A concrete achievement :
the disposal facility for very-lowlevel waste (CSTFA) With due account of the nature of VLL waste, their containment envelope (drums, big bags, etc.) has no role in confining radioactivity, but rather in facilitating handling and disposal operations, while protecting operators. Approximately 30% of all waste received at the CSTFA undergo a specific treatment before disposal. Low-density residues (plastics, thermal-insulation materials, etc.) are first compacted by a baling press, then strapped and wrapped in clear plastic-sheet. Another bundle press is used to reduce the volume of scrap metal. Some waste, such as the polluted waters generated on site or the sludges sent by producers, are processed in the solidification and stabilisation unit.
VLL disposal cell under operation
Disposal cells Disposal cells are excavated progressively, as needed, directly in the clay formation down to a depth of 8 m and are operated in sequence. Cell design has evolved to maximize the disposal volume, and now offers 25 000 m3 in a 26 m wide by 174 m long and up to 8.5 m deep structure. Cells are filled up in successive waste packages layers (about 10 on average), while void spaces between waste packages are gradually backfilled with sand. >> a 2-mm-thick high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane 1 is first fitted at the bottom and on the sides of the cell before emplacing the waste. Once each individual cell is filled up, an identical membrane is laid over it and thermo-welded to the first, in order to form a continuous and water-tight barrier around the waste. The geomembrane is fully waterproof and is designed to prevent any dispersion of radioactivity and any seepage of external waters (rain, infiltrations) over several decades;
>> a containment envelope made up of natural clay-based materials. 2a The lower part of the envelope corresponds to the first 5 m of the clay layer located immediately under the geomembrane and characterized by a very low permeability (at least 10-9 m/s). The upper part 2b is made of clay-based materials that were removed during cell excavation and consists of a layer measuring 1 to 5 m in thickness, shaped and compacted mechanically in order to restore its initial low permeability (at least 10-9 m/s). >> Ultimately, a clay backfill, 3 approximately 2.5-m in thickness, will isolate the clay-based containment layer from: - weathering (frost, draught); - burrowing animals, and - erosion. >> Lastly, a permanent 30-cm-thick layer of grass-covered topsoil 4 will be laid over the entire structure.
4 3 2b
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2a
Relying on its wide-ranging competences in the field of waste management and disposal, Andra offers multiple solutions, from consultancy and document review, to technology transfer and turnkey projects - to all countries and organizations concerned by the safety and the efficiency of their radwaste management Waste management policies
>> Development of framework for radioactive waste management >> Waste management organization implementation
Waste management strategies
>> National strategy and waste management plans >> National, corporate & site waste inventories >> Waste characterization and tracking >> Waste compliance verification >> Data archiving and site memory
Communication & public relations
>> Stakeholder engagement and communication strategy >> Communications resources: web, edition, video, public debates and consultations
Research and Development
>> Geology, geophysics, rock mechanics, geochemistry, sensors & networks… >> R&D program design & management
Training
>> Specific or generic waste management courses >> Training program design >> Extensive use of Andra facilities and R&D resources
Site remediation
>> Site characterization >> Site clean-up >> Waste management
Disposal facility design: VLLW, LLW, ILW, HLW & Spent Fuel >> Conceptual to detailed design : waste treatment, conditioning and disposal >> Siting of facilities: early bibliographical studies to site characterization management >> Safety analysis: modeling, simulation, studies
Disposal facility licensing
>> Environmental and safety reviews >> Site and waste disposal licence preparation
Disposal facility construction >> Construction management >> Project owner support
Disposal facility operation
>> Waste treatment and packaging facilities design >> Operations and quality reviews and improvements assessment
Disposal facility closure >> Site closure planning >> Safety reviews >> Final site capping design
“Small scale nuclear activities” waste producers
>> Collection, sorting, treatment, packaging and disposal of radioactive waste >> Environmental monitoring
FRENCH NATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT AGENCY 1-7, rue Jean-Monnet 92298 Châtenay-Malabry cedex - France
www.andra.fr
For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
© Andra - 434VA - DCOM/14-0172 - July 2014 - Graphical design and production: Demoniak – Photo credits: P. Maurein - illustrations : Andra / J. Mariez - Printing certified by Imprim’Vert using vegetable inks on partially recycled paper, FSC certified - Distributed free - Not for sale
A unique array of skills and services
Andra
The deep geological disposal concept as developed by Andra
• Over 20 years of experience in the preparation of a deep repository projet • More than 10 years of studies and investigations within Andra’s URL
The waste for disposal Nuclear reactors run on fuel assemblies consisting of uranium, which is sometimes combined with plutonium. As time goes by, the fuel becomes less efficient and must be replaced by new fuel. At that stage, it may either be considered as waste or recycled at the Areva plant at La Hague, Manche district, in order to extract new energy resources. Spent fuels and/or vitrified residues form the large majority of high-level (HL) waste. In case of reprocessing, the metallic structures of the fuel assemblie are compacted and placed in stainless steel containers, similar to those used for vitrification, to form intermediate-level long-lived (IL/LL) waste. The activity level and the long half-lives of that waste, either in the form of spent fuel or after treatment, justify their deep geological disposal in order to ensure their confinement over several hundreds of thousands of years
French national radioactive waste management agency
The disposal concept >> The disposal concept relies on the remarkable properties (retention capability, low permeability and homogeneity of the formation) of the various clays, which delay and mitigate the migration of the radioactive substances contained in the HL or IL/LL waste intended for deep underground disposal. The purpose is to limit their contact with the biosphere until their impact does not induce more risk than naturallyoccurring radioactivity.
Basic diagram of an HLW package disposal cell. calImage
>> Hence, the overall performance is guaranteed by the natural environment, while the actual array of disposal packages and structures is greatly simplified. In fact, the main role of packaging will be to delay any contact of the waste with the geological environment beyond the thermal phase, which spans over a few centuries. Under such conditions, there is no need for any engineered barrier containing exogenous materials, since its performance is necessarily limited over time. Only seals will call for the use of cements and bentonite.
Basic diagram of an ILW-LL package disposal cell.
An adapted disposal concept for each waste category >> Upon their arrival at the facility, high-level (HLW) waste packages will be conditioned one by one in steel containers, which in turn will be put in transport casks in order to ensure the radiological protection of the staff, and finally laid down one behind the other in tunnel-like disposal cells.
principle of HL waste over-pack
>> Before being transferred to underground installations, intermediate-level long-lived (ILW/LL) waste packages will be deposited in concrete containers, which in turn will be inserted into transport casks. In the repository, they will be juxtaposed and stacked in dedicated disposal cells.
principle of IL/LL containers
Exemple of repository lay-out The geological repository for HLW and ILW/LL waste, otherwise known as the Industrial Centre for Geological Disposal (Centre industriel de stockage géologique – Cigéo) will include surface installations for controlling and conditioning waste packages, as well as underground installations for waste-disposal purposes and connecting infrastructures between surface and underground.
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>> Surface installations will be spread over two sites. >> The first site 1 will be mainly used for the excavation and construction of the underground structures. With a footprint of the order of 110 ha, this zone will be located directly above the underground facility. It will include the required industrial workshops and areas for the construction of the repository, shafts, administrative buildings and a specific stockpile area for the muck removed during the gradual excavation of the facility. >> A second site 2 located a few kilometers away from the excavation site, with a footprint of 200 extra hectares, will include mostly the nuclear installations where radioactive waste packages will be controlled and conditioned in containers, if required, before being transferred to the underground installations. The second site will also integrate a specific stockpile area for the muck resulting from the opening of the incline.
>> One ramp 3 will be used to transfer waste packages to the underground facility, while another will be used as a technical access drift. >> Underground installations 4 will be progressively added as the operation progresses until they reach a total maximum area of about 15 km2, after about 100 years. Located at a depth of approximately 500 m, those installations will consist of specific disposal areas for the different waste categories, as well as connecting drifts and technical installations. >> Connecting infrastructures 5 will ensure transfers between surface and underground installations, notably for conveying staff, transferring disposal containers and worksite machinery, as well as ventilating underground installations
Relying on its wide-ranging competences in the field of waste management and disposal, Andra offers multiple solutions, from consultancy and document review, to technology transfer and turnkey projects - to all countries and organizations concerned by the safety and the efficiency of their radwaste management Waste management policies
>> Development of framework for radioactive waste management >> Waste management organization implementation
Waste management strategies
>> National strategy and waste management plans >> National, corporate & site waste inventories >> Waste characterization and tracking >> Waste compliance verification >> Data archiving and site memory
Communication & public relations
>> Stakeholder engagement and communication strategy >> Communications resources: web, edition, video, public debates and consultations
Research and Development
>> Geology, geophysics, rock mechanics, geochemistry, sensors & networks… >> R&D program design & management
Training
>> Specific or generic waste management courses >> Training program design >> Extensive use of Andra facilities and R&D resources
Site remediation
>> Site characterization >> Site clean-up >> Waste management
Disposal facility design: VLLW, LLW, ILW, HLW & Spent Fuel >> Conceptual to detailed design : waste treatment, conditioning and disposal >> Siting of facilities: early bibliographical studies to site characterization management >> Safety analysis: modeling, simulation, studies
Disposal facility licensing
>> Environmental and safety reviews >> Site and waste disposal licence preparation
Disposal facility construction >> Construction management >> Project owner support
Disposal facility operation
>> Waste treatment and packaging facilities design >> Operations and quality reviews and improvements assessment
Disposal facility closure >> Site closure planning >> Safety reviews >> Final site capping design
“Small scale nuclear activities” waste producers
>> Collection, sorting, treatment, packaging and disposal of radioactive waste >> Environmental monitoring
FRENCH NATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT AGENCY 1-7, rue Jean-Monnet 92298 Châtenay-Malabry cedex - France
www.andra.fr
For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
© Andra - 434VA - DCOM/14-0171 - July 2014 - Graphical design and production: Demoniak – Photo credits: P. Maurein - illustrations : Andra / J. Mariez - Printing certified by Imprim’Vert using vegetable inks on partially recycled paper, FSC certified - Distributed free - Not for sale
A unique array of skills and services
Products and Services
Training sessions on Radioactive Waste Management From theory to practice
Going from the methodology to the specification and the implementation, then backward in order to adapt solutions to specific situations, is the most significant feature of Andra’s Training Sessions. Deconstruction worksites of decommissionned nuclear facilities
Services in andra’s field of scientific and technical expertise We offer to help our customers develop and implement their radioactive waste management plans. Our wide range of services includes: >> Project definition, program & management
>> Research and Development programs definitions and implementation for HLW >> Establishing detailed inventories for existing as well as for future radioactive waste
>> Specification of waste & packaging (Waste Acceptance Criteria) >> Waste tracking
>> Design, construction, operation, and closure of waste repositories
>> Defining plans and strategies for your radioactive waste management
>> Safety assessments and safety cases
>> Site investigation, processing and databases
>> Facility and environment monitoring
>> Disposal concept development
>> Expertise and consultancy, including on economic aspects >> Communication and public information >> Relationship with stakeholders
Methodology Andra proposes competence enhancement modules that consist of 1-2-week training sessions in the framework of its « home-made » educational program. Several modules may be combined, to a course duration of up to 16 weeks. The modules and sessions are tailored to the Client’s wishes and constraints both regarding the content and the schedule. Accommodation may be also organized in France by Andra.
>> For example: Operational and Long Term Disposal Safety modules.
French national radioactive waste management agency
>> To become familiar with a step-by-step safety oriented methodology in the frame of a radioactive waste disposal facility development >> To perform a thorough functional analysis and to identify suitable solutions that will match the safety criteria >> To understand the major safety key components and to allocate relevant performances to all of them >> To become familiar with the key parameters and their uncertainties that drive the safety performances with regards to the long term impact >> To perform case studies in order to optimize the design
of the most suitable solutions (safety, cost, operability, maintenance) >> Specifications of adapted financing schemes; >> Organisation of the collection and storage of diffuse nuclear waste in order to ensure the immediate safety of populations and of the environment; >> Modular design and then construction of installations allowing for the swift take-over of existing volumes over the short term, at least in storage facilities; >> Training and gradual apprenticeship with the Andra teams.
Andra Solutions Andra has implemented design, construction, operation and closure solutions for the radioactive waste generated in France; including R&D programs for the HLW geological reversible disposal. With this important and exhaustive background, Andra has built-up a training program covering many of the activities related to Radioactive Waste Management. Andra has, over the past years, provided training to professionals at the request of IAEA, institutional organizations, and major companies in the radioactive waste management sector. Benefiting from our experience, the trainees acquire the insight that enables to reduce costs and delivery times whilst minimizing risks for their own projects.
> CUSTOMIZED TRAINING LECTURES AND OPERATIONAL TRAINING Andra can supply specific and generic waste management courses designed for specific customers’ needs: training programs on safety, repository design, waste acceptance criteria and process, facility operation, capping and closure, phenomenology and related scientific topics. The trainees have operational use of Andra facilities and R&D resources if the sessions take place in France. The session may also be organized at the client’s location.
Andra is responsible for managing all radioactive waste produced in France.
©Andra – 358-1VA/B – July 2011 – DCOM-11-0118 – 300 copies – Graphical design and production: Logic Design – Photo credits: Andra / P. Demail – Illustrations: Andra – Printing certified by Imprim’Vert on partially recycled paper, FSC certified - Distributed free - Not for sale
For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
Andra - 358-5VA/B - July 2014 - DCOM-14.0214- Graphical design : Demoniak - production: Logic Design – Photo credits: Andra / Studio Durey / P. Demail – Illustrations: Andra - Printing certified by Imprim’Vert using vegetable inks on partially recycled paper, FSC certified - Distributed free - Not for sale
Objectives of the modules
Products and Services
Radioactive Materials and Waste National Inventory and Management Plan
The National Inventory gives the origin of the radioactive materials and waste according to a breakdown into 5 activity sectors leading to the production, possession or handling of radioactive waste :
1• Very-low-level radioactive waste
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>> The nuclear power generating sector : the nuclear power plants, the front-end fuel cycle plants (ore extraction and processing, conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication), and the spent fuel processing plants ;
2• Intermediatelevel short-lived radioactive waste
National Radioactive Materials and Waste Inventory
>> The Defence sector : activities linked to the deterrent force and nuclear propulsion of certain ships, including various research activities; >> The Research sector : civil nuclear research activities ;
Since the 1991 Act on the management of radioactive waste was passed, Andra has been responsible for inventorying radioactive materials and waste throughout France. Until 2002, Andra published an annual “observatory” of waste, which was replaced in 2004 by the first National Inventory of Radioactive Materials and Waste. This inventory is updated annually by Andra and published every three years. It is above all an information and transparency document used as the basis for the National Radioactive Materials and Waste Management Plan (PNGMDR). The issue of considering not only waste, but also radioactive materials is essential to assess the amount of committed waste. Moreover, the inventory describes the quantities of present but also future materials and waste, based on existing and forecast activities according to the remaining operating lifetime of current nuclear facilities, in order to plan current and future waste management solutions to be included in the PNGMDR.
>> The Industrial sector other than power generation : in particular the extraction of rare earths, the manufacture and use of sealed sources ; >> The Medical sector : therapeutic, medical diagnosis and medical research activities.
Methodology
2012
The National Inventory is built around declarations from producers and those in possession of radioactive materials and waste. A strict methodology and rigorous verification procedures underpin the production of the inventory. Andra has developed an IT tool enabling owners of materials and waste to declare their current and forecast stock per geographical site. On-line declarations are transmitted to Andra via internet. The information collected is analysed and put together with various other data sources available to Andra. Information is then presented in three catalogues : >> The geographical inventory gives a regional breakdown of the sites which produce, process, package and store radioactive materials and waste, operated by the producers and those in possession of the waste.
>> The descriptive catalogue of families gives an inventory of the waste broken down into families, defined as being a group of waste with comparable characteristics, in particular with respect to packaging criteria.
2012
Rapport se de synthè
INVENTAIRE NATIONAL des matières et déchets radioactifs
Catalogue descriptif des familles
INVENTAIRE NATIONAL des matières et déchets radioactifs
Inventaire 2012 géographique INVENTAIRE NATIONAL des matières et déchets radioactifs
>> The summary report which gives an overview of quantities and anticipated scenarios per economic sector.
French national radioactive waste management agency
The National Radioactive Materials and Waste Management Plan >> Describe the existing methods for managing radioactive materials and waste, >> Identify the foreseeable needs for storage or disposal facilities,
>> Specify the necessary capacity for these facilities and the storage periods and, concerning radioactive waste for which there is not yet any final management method, determine the objectives to be achieved.
Rigorous, detailed work is therefore carried out, based on all the information compiled in the National Inventory. This consists in identifying and describing the safe management solutions available for each family of radioactive materials and waste. The availability time-frame of these solutions, in particular with regard to treatment and disposal capacity, makes this plan a forward-looking management tool. For waste with no identified solution, research programmes are defined, with an indication of the expected results and the corresponding time-frames. In this way, no radioactive material or waste can remain without a solution, either one that already exists or one that has a clearly identified time-frame.
Standard compacted waste container
Andra Solutions >> Andra has developed a remotedeclaration system for materials and waste. Those in possession of this material or waste can enter their declarations on-line. >> After verification of the information declared, data is compiled and analysed. It is then input into the
National Inventory of radioactive materials and waste, which can then be published and distributed. >> On the basis of the National Inventory, a National Management Plan is drawn up, in conjunction with the various stakeholders. The aim is to verify the current or future
availability of safe management solutions. The National Management Plan is also published and available on-line.
Remote-declaration system for radioactive materials and waste
©Andra – 358-1VA/B – July 2011 – DCOM-11-0118 – 300 copies – Graphical design and production: Logic Design – Photo credits: Andra / P. Demail – Illustrations: Andra – Printing certified by Imprim’Vert on partially recycled paper, FSC certified - Distributed free - Not for sale
For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
Andra - 358-5VA/B - July 2014 - DCOM-14-0213 - Graphical design : Demoniak - production: Logic Design – Photo credits: Andra / Studio Durey / P. Demail – Illustrations: Andra - Printing certified by Imprim’Vert using vegetable inks on partially recycled paper, FSC certified - Distributed free - Not for sale
The June 2006 Planning Act stipulates that a national radioactive materials and waste management plan should
Products and Services
A stepwise management approach combining “small-scale nuclear activities” radioactive waste> and the waste from a future nuclear-power industry
A stepwise and adapted approach for managing radioactive waste in countries intending to develop a nuclearpower programme
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Small-scale nuclear activities waste may result from industrial uses, such as the manufacturing of aircraft dials (1) or electronic tubes (2) or from the medical applications of radioactivity
Today, almost all countries use radioactivity for medical, industrial or research applications. Such activities (also referred to as “small-scale nuclear activities” or “diffuse nuclear sector”) generate radioactive waste and it generally includes both very-low-level (VLL) & low-level short-lived (LL-SL) waste. Scattered all over the country, these activities involve many operators and owners varying in size (from a large hospital centre to the private expert using a lead detector) and in the level of their safety culture. The management of radioactive waste resulting from the diffuse nuclear sector imposes organisational constraints, such as characterisation and conditioning, temporary and long-term management. In all cases, the take-over of the waste should not burden the owners with excessive costs, since they might be inclined to abandon them carelessly. First and foremost, it is therefore necessary, in the short term, to implement temporary storage mechanisms for such waste in order to protect populations and the environment. Second, the implementation of a nuclear-power programme can provide an opportunity to organise and, hence, to finance the joint management of the waste originating from both the nuclear industry and small-scale nuclear activities.
Methodology >> Enforcement of the legislative and regulatory frameworks with their institutional mechanisms (inventory, organisations); >> Specifications of adapted financing schemes;
>> Organisation of the collection and storage of diffuse nuclear waste in order to ensure the immediate safety of populations and of the environment; >> Modular design and then construction
of installations allowing for the swift take-over of existing volumes over the short term, at least in storage facilities; >> Training and gradual apprenticeship with the Andra teams.
French national radioactive waste management agency
For countries intending to develop a nuclear-power industry, the next step will consist in integrating radioactivewaste management in that system, bearing in mind that a nuclear-power reactor generates approximately 100 m3 of low- and intermediate-level short-lived (LL/IL‑SL) operational waste per year. In line with a
responsible approach, which is essential to ensure the socio-political acceptance of the nuclear-power venue, the management of such operational waste must be initiated from the very beginning of the nuclear-power project, notably with the objective to implement a disposal facility capable of ensuring long-term safety. The mechanisms set in place for the diffuse nuclear sector are available to be extended and established
permanently in order to take over the future operational radioactive waste generated by the nuclear-power industry, with due account of longterm safety. Relying on a gradual and modular concept, the corresponding disposal facility would be able to manage small waste volumes of a newly-born nuclear-power industry and of the diffuse nuclear sector, before adapting itself to increasing volumes, as need be, if the decision is made to expand the nuclearreactor fleet.
Andra Solutions Andra is responsible for managing all radioactive waste produced in France. In that capacity, the Agency has more than 20 years’ specific experience in drawing inventories and in organising the management of radioactive waste resulting not only from the nuclear-power industry, but also from the chemical industries and other industrial applications of radioactivity.
Andra has developed concepts and methodologies for a large variety of waste categories, notably for LL/IL-SL and VLL waste.
Those concepts are flexible enough to take into account new types and forms of waste throughout the operation of disposal facilities.
The Agency also welcomes trainees who wish to complete their initial education.
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1• Collection and conditioning of small-scale nuclear activities waste 2• A disposal cell under its mobile roof at the CSTFA VLL waste disposal facility which accommodates part of the small-scale nuclear activities waste
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For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
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At the end of the initial phase, as presented previously, the first management mechanisms for radioactive waste will be available.
Products and Services
Operational waste from nuclear facilities
Andra is performing consultancy services under the label Andra Solutions (AS). The scope of Andra Solutions is all the process dealing with radioactive waste management, from inventory to disposal. The LILW management is a 42 year feedback activity, from disposal design, operation, post-closure to package delivery process. Disposal of waste packages at the CSFMA
All nuclear facilities, whether reactors, fuel-cycle front-end facilities (conversion, enrichment, fuel-fabrication plants) or spent-fuel processing plants, generate operational waste. In particular it is generally estimated that about 100 m3 of operational waste are produced every year just by each power reactor. Such waste includes, for instance, the ion-exchange resins produced in reactor circuits or the operating filters, both of which contain a large amount of cobalt-60 activation products. A specific process is necessary to ensure that all operational residues are sorted, measured, treated, conditioned, packaged and stored or disposed of under good operational safety and long-term safety conditions. Those activities must also be carried out at the most cost-efficient rates. The selection of the disposal concept has an impact on all phases of the waste-management process, especially on the producer’s premises beginning when the radioactive waste is produced. Therefore the waste manager must intervene very early in the process in order to ensure its entire consistency.
Methodology >> The AS Surface methodology is to set up an iterative process that includes the folloawing steps:
>> The determination of the radiological capacity of the disposal sites and acceptance limits;
>> The implementation and follow-up of the radiological and chemical inventory (both for existing and future waste);
>> The definition of the waste-packaging and containment specifications, from which will derive the relevant sorting and conditioning operations on the producer’s premises;
>> The identification of the adequate ratios for long-lived radionuclides that are difficult to measure;
>> The prescription and enforcement of systems to measure waste activities;
>> The implementation of wasteacceptance criteria and control procedures required prior to accepting waste at the disposal facilities; >> The selection of the disposal site; >> The design of disposal facilities, followed by their construction, operation and, finally, their closure;
French national radioactive waste management agency
>> The enforcement of environmental monitoring programmes;
>> The closure of disposal facilities and enforcement of the long-term postclosure monitoring programme;
>> conditions, reversibility options, longterm monitoring, etc.; >> Cost evaluation for such a facility.
>> The preparation and submission of application files for review by authorities.
Andra Solutions Andra is responsible for managing all radioactive waste produced in France. It benefits from 40 years’ experience in the management of the waste coming from the French nuclear reactors, including all fuel-related facilities.
The Agency is currently operating two disposal facilities: one for shortlived low- and intermediate-level waste (CSFMA) and the other for very-low-level waste (CSTFA). In accordance with waste production rates and with a very good safety record, both facilities accommodate almost all operational waste generated in France. Andra also
ensures the active monitoring of a third disposal facility, the Manche Disposal Facility, which is now in post-closure monitoring phase. Moreover, the Agency intervenes on the overall processing of the waste and prescribes the wasteacceptance criteria to be met by the producers before they send their
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waste to Andra’s disposal facilities. Hence, it implements integrated solutions for radioactive waste management, from initial production until final disposal.
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1• Drum containing low-level waste resulting from the operation of a nuclear facility 2• Grass sampling as part of the environmental monitoring at the CSFMA 3• Filter-cartridge waste from the water primary circuit of a nuclear-power plant 4• Compaction of a radioactive-waste package at the CSFMA
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For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
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>> The realisation of safety assessment studies on the disposal sites;
Products and Services
Waste from decommissioning and maintenance of nuclear facilities Identify best environmental and practical solutions for Low Level and Very Low Level Waste management and disposal. Deconstruction worksites of decommissionned nuclear facilities
The maintenance of nuclear facilities and their dismantling, once their operating life is over, generate radioactive waste of various kinds: > ln activity level, for instance between waste originating from containment envelopes and waste resulting from the reactor core itself; > ln bulk and weight, for instance, between concrete rubble and huge metal components, such as reactor vessels; > ln gross waste volume, for instance between concrete waste from containment envelopes and waste resulting from filtration systems. Waste management solutions must be analyzed at building, site, regional and national levels to demonstrate their efficiency. They must also consider physical and radiological characteristics, treatment and disposal routes available. They must be shared by waste producers and safety regulators. With over 40 years of experience, Andra delivers an in-depth knowledge of maintenance and decommissioning waste, from generation to final disposal, and has developed innovative disposal techniques that save dose to the workers and money to the producer.
Methodology >> Quantitative and radiological inventories;
>> Waste-treatment specifications in partnership with waste producers;
>> lnventory work at every deconstruction step: electromechanical dismantling, cleanup of concretes, followed by dismantling and demolition, and specific treatment proposal;
>> Packaging specifications in partnership with waste producers;
>> Construction, operation and final closure of disposal facilities;
>> Waste-acceptance criteria, waste
>> Prospective economic studies;
>> compliance control specifications;
>> Technical and economic analyses;
>> Development of adapted disposal
>> Consistency studies between forecast inventory and existing disposal solutions.
facilities fulfilling regulatory requirements;
French national radioactive waste management agency
Andra Solutions Some Low Level Waste (LLW) and Very Low Level Waste (VLLW) management solutions developed by Andra: >> Optimize Very Low Level waste disposal solutions, improving disposal costs and available volumes at surface >> Analysis of an adapted system for direct disposal of large uncontainerized items, such as PWR vessel heads and Steam Generators, including regulatory acceptance
>> On-site disposal solutions for VLLW NPPs and large nuclear facilities >> On-site volume reduction treatment for metallic and soft waste (LLW and VLLW) >> Optimization of disposal facility in several areas including operational safety, disposal capacity, disposal process efficiency, >> Compliance verification programmes, including waste characterization and waste generation process audits
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>> Computerized waste tracking system, including direct waste generator remote declaration and acceptance criteria verification functionalities >> Sorting and grouping facilities for waste from small scale producers (hospitals, laboratories, universities… >> Emergency of crisis situations large volume disposal solutions for VLLW >> Training and courses for waste producers
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1• PWR Steam generator arrives for disposal at CIRES 2• Disposaiceli for waste packages at the CIRES under its mobile roof 3• Internal view of a disposal cell at CSTFA
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Consultancy services are available for waste management strategy, waste disposal capacity building, waste acceptance and compliance programmes, waste tracking solutions and more. Contact
[email protected] for information
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Andra is responsible for managing all radioactive waste produced in France.
Products and Services
Polluted and contaminated sites: the industrial legacy
Andra cleans up and remediates polluted and contaminated sites
Remediation of a private residence contaminated with radioactivity
Today, almost all countries use radioactivity for medical, industrial or research applications. Such activities (also referred to as “small-scale nuclear activities” or “diffuse nuclear sector”) generate radioactive waste and it generally includes both very-low-level (VLL) & low-level short-lived (LL-SL) waste. Scattered all over the country, these activities involve many operators and owners varying in size (from a large hospital centre to the private expert using a lead detector) and in the level of their safety culture. The management of radioactive waste resulting from the diffuse nuclear sector imposes organisational constraints, such as characterisation and conditioning, temporary and long-term management. In all cases, the take-over of the waste should not burden the owners with excessive costs, since they might be inclined to abandon them carelessly. First and foremost, it is therefore necessary, in the short term, to implement temporary storage mechanisms for such waste in order to protect populations and the environment. Second, the implementation of a nuclear-power programme can provide an opportunity to organise and, hence, to finance the joint management of the waste originating from both the nuclear industry and small-scale nuclear activities.
Methodology The objective is to set up a multi-step process, as follows: >> Identification of the radiological and chemical inventory concerned; >> Detailed mapping of the site, with clear indications of the radioactive spots;
>> Detailed analysis of the geology and of the hydrogeology of the site, followed by, most of the time, geotechnical and hydrogeological surveys and studies; >> Assessment of the radiological risk of the site by taking into
French national radioactive waste management agency
>> Analyses of potential solutions: in situ treatment of materials, transport, future capping of the site, etc., taking into account safety and cost criteria;
>> Implementation of the selected long-term solutions; >> Specification of an environmental-monitoring programme; >> Preparation of application files to safety authorities.
Andra Solutions Andra is responsible for the management of all radioactive waste produced in France. This includes the securing of French orphan sites where industrial, medical and research activities have led to radioactive pollution.
On behalf of the country, the Agency is therefore called upon to manage polluted sites: old industrial plants, laboratories, schools, etc.
In the Paris suburbs, for instance, Andra cleaned up homes that had been built on the site of a former company which used radium.
The Agency is also intervening in Southern France to clean up a site where the former operator has abandoned radioactive products.
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1•2•3• Sites that are contaminated with radioactivity may be quite different in nature: (1) private homes built on sites where radioelements were used in the past, (2) an industrial site where watches and alarm clocks were manufactured, (3) a former research laboratory on radium.
For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
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account different scenarios and the risks associated with other pollutions;
Products and Services
Deep Geological Repository
Deep geological disposal of spent fuel and of high-level (HL) and intermediate level long-lived (IL-LL) waste.
The planned lay-out of the deep geological disposal facility
Once unloaded from nuclear reactors, spent fuel may be either considered as waste to be disposed of or processed in order to retrieve its recyclable content. In the second case, the residues are in the form of HL or IL-LL waste and include on the one hand fission products and minor actinides, and on the other hand processinduced salts and waste produced by the structures of the nuclear fuel assembly (as hulls and end-caps). Many countries have already selected deep geological disposal as the reference solution for the management of HL and IL-LL waste. In fact, the remarkable characteristics of certain deep geological formations make them suitable for confining the hazardous substances present in such waste during the radioactive-decay period until they represent no more risk for human beings and the environment.
Methodology >> Identification of preliminary disposal concepts: search for adapted solutions based on the characteristics of the waste and geological conditions;
>> Scientific-research, modeling and simulation programmes; >> Construction and operations of an
>> Search for potential host sites for the siting of deep geological repository;
Underground Research Laboratory
>> Communication and relations with stakeholders in the framework of the decision-making process at the national, regional and local levels;
experiments); >> Design of the waste repository and of its
>> Geological-survey programmes;
>> Cost evaluation for such a facility;
(including the conducting of
structures;
>> Definition of waste-package acceptance criteria, disposal specifications and control modalities; >> Technological development programmes and construction of technological demonstrators; >> Safety studies and assessments, preparation of regulatory licensing applications; >> Specific studies on operating conditions, reversibility options, longterm monitoring, etc.;
French national radioactive waste management agency
Andra Solutions Andra is responsible for managing all radioactive waste produced in France. It benefits from 40 years’ experience in the preparation of projects for the
>> The research carried out notably at the URL (Underground Research Laboratory) led to the publication of the Dossier 2005 in which Andra demonstrated the feasibility of deep geological disposal for HL and ILLL waste, including a reversibility rationale. >> Andra has demonstrated its capability to design and to lead the required scientific R&D program to justify its proposed options and to demonstrate the safety of its solutions, thus ensuring a high added value
to its projects. Similarly, it also develops various construction and handling methods and processes, for which demonstrators and pilot models were built and tested. They are now shown at the Andra Technological Exhibition Centre. >> The Research Program carried out in preparation for the implementation of disposal facilities relies on a rigorous knowledge of the waste and of the sites involved, and uses an iterative design approach. The performance of the disposal facility and the safety it provides are
constantly re-assessed via a series of methods developed by Andra and are designed to integrate both the existing knowledge and system analysis. >> The Agency has developped a methodology for the phenomenological analysis of repository situations in order to describe and analyse any phenomenon likely to occur throughout the evolution of the repository, including over the long-term.
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1• Before being emplaced in disposal cells, HL radioactive-waste packages are conditioned in disposal containers
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2• Aerial view of Andra’s Meuse/Haute-Marne URL, where Andra is studying a suitable clay-rock formation for siting the future repository for HL and IL-LL waste at a depth of 500 m 3• The Technological Exhibition Center showing the demonstrators of waste packages and handling robots
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For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
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implementation of a repository
Products and Services
Radium-bearing waste
The management of radioactive waste resulting from the production of rare earths or from groundwater containing mineral salts
In France, Andra is currently studying a disposal concept for long-lived radioactive waste, such as radium-bearing residues
Radium-bearing waste is radioactive and, as its name implies, contains radium. It may result from ore mining, the treatment of groundwaters originating from deep geological formations, oil production or industrial activities. Often important in volume, radium-bearing waste is generally of low-level or intermediate-level activity, which means that a light protection mechanism is sufficient against irradiation risks. However this type of waste is radon gas producing and this must also be taken into account. The storage solution, which usually involves waste preconditioning, must ensure the safety and radiation protection of the staff working on the site, of neighbouring populations and of the environment. However, storage must be considered only as a temporary measure. In fact, radium-bearing residues are long-lived and require specific long-term management solutions in order to prevent any future migration or transfer (notably by air) of radioactive substances and to protect the populations and the environment against contamination risks.
Methodology >> 1• Good knowledge of the waste and of its future production The first step consists in drawing an inventory of existing waste on the different sites, starting with a preliminary characterisation, in order to design and implement immediate radiation-protection systems, if need be.
The assessment of future waste production will complete the preliminary inventory by including in it a prospective dimension. >> 2• Short-term protection and development of concepts for long-term management The second step implies the short-
term protection against the risks induced by radium-bearing waste through their preconditioning before collection, transport and potential temporary storage (centralised or not). On the basis of the characteristics of the residues, preliminary disposal concepts are developed for their long-
French national radioactive waste management agency
A safety assessment concludes that phase and ensures the conformity of the overall solution with the
regulatory framework, notably with regard to environmental impacts.
order to select the service providers or the building contractors.
>> 3• Conduct of the project Once the licence is granted, the third step consists in establishing on the basis of the selected concepts and of their modus operandi, technical requirements and specifications in
Andra Solutions Andra is responsible for the management of all radioactive waste produced in France.In that capacity, the Agency has more than 15 years’ experience in drawing inventories (notably prospective) and characterising radioactive waste resulting not only from the nuclearpower sector, but also from the chemical industry and other
industrial applications of radioactivity. Andra has developed concepts and methodologies for a large variety of waste categories, notably those with “very-low-level” and “lowlevel long-lived” residues, such as radium-bearing waste from industrial activities, as well as for substantial volumes.
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1• Radium-bearing waste resulting from the treatment of rare earths for industrial applications.
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2• 3• Industrial activities, such as the production of zirconium (2) generate radium-bearing residues, stored here in the same industrial facility where they are produced (3).
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For further information or contact :
[email protected] - Tel. : + 33 1 46 11 82 99
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term management. For economic and safety reasons, it is worth mentioning that the design of preconditioning must be consistent with the long-term safety objectives and the disposal concepts.
