Universal Registration Document 2022

Introduction

The need for additional storage capacity and the relevance of an underwater storage solution were confirmed at the conclusion of the public debate organised by the CNDP (1) (from 17 April to 25 September 2019). The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the ASN published their conclusions on 21 February 2020 and noted, in particular, “the continuing work in to set up additional centralised underwater storage capacities”. Following this public debate and the favourable opinion on the safety options dossier issued by the ASN on 23 July 2019, EDF now has the fundamentals required to pursue its project.

Between 18 November 2021 and 8 July 2022, EDF engaged in a preliminary consultation relating to plans to locate this pool at La Hague within the Orano site.

Main consultation stages:

    • early 2021: EDF approached France’s national commission for public debate (Commission nationale du débat public, CNDP);
    • 3 March 2021: decision by the CNDP announcing that the project would be subject to preliminary consultation;
    • 22 November 2021: start of the consultation process;
    • 3 February 2022: the CNDP suspended the consultation following a proposal by EDF (see the Debatpublic website). The aim was to improve consultation procedures to provide better coverage of the La Manche area and of the issues raised by the consultation itself. This decision was intended to provide enough time for the procedures to be set up, and formed part of EDF’s policy to improve open dialogue with local residents, elected officials, and non-profit bodies in respect of the project;
    • 20 June 2022-8 July 2022: the consultation process resumed;
    • 8 August 2022: publication of the guarantors’ review, which noted “genuine, diversified, and productive” grassroots participation;
    • 7 October 2022: publication of “Lessons learned from the preliminary consultation and next steps taken by EDF”;
    • At this stage, EDF has announced its intention of pursuing the project; it is preparing to submit the request for permission to set up the installation by the end of 2023 with a view to a public enquiry taking place in 2025. During the consultation, stakeholders asked a large number of questions about the issues surrounding the fuel cycle. EDF plans to take into account the concerns expressed to the maximum possible extent, including by implementing a structured discussion and dialogue scheme under the aegis of guarantors appointed by the CNDP. At the same time, EDF has already commenced studies of several practical measures designed to improve the way the project is integrated into the region.

The construction cost of the facility, estimated at €20201.25 billion, is included in the financial trajectory of the Grand Carénage programme.

Furthermore, to address the challenges in terms of storage capacity for spent fuel in the shorter term, Orano is developing a technique allowing it to increase occupancy in its existing pools at La Hague, at EDF’s request. The safety options dossier for this project underwent an expert appraisal by the IRSN (2). In an opinion issued on 28 May 2021, the IRSN deemed the chosen safety options to be appropriate.

In a further additional measure, Orano is studying the possibility of dry temporary storage of spent fuel. Specific provisions have been made for the dry storage and densification scenarios.

Storing conditioned final radioactive waste

Radioactive waste, depending on its nature, level of radioactivity and the lifespan of its radionuclide components, has been classified into different categories: from High-Level Waste (HLW), to Very Low-Level Waste (VLLW) on to Low-Level Waste (LLW) and Intermediate-Level Waste (ILW). It is called Long-Lived (LL) when it remains active for more than 31 years.

High-Level and Intermediate-Level Waste (ILW-LL)

The processing of spent fuel enables the vitrification of HLW, which provides very high-quality conditioning with a reduced volume. All of the HLW stored in this way, corresponding to the operation of the early plants and to 50 years of operation of the current PWR facilities, would represent a volume of approximately 9,300m3 (the electricity consumption of one million people for one year generates approximately 3 cubic metres of HLW).

ILW-LL waste includes:

    • the structures of the assemblies (shells and nozzles, clad pieces, etc.) separated during the processing of spent fuel. They are currently compacted and conditioned in stainless steel containers;
    • waste resulting from certain operating, maintenance and dismantling activities.

The total volume of ILW-LL is about 37,000m3. This includes waste from the operation and decommissioning of shut down facilities, including Uranium Natural Graphite Gas (UNGG) reactors and the waste from the current PWR facilities, taking into account a 50-year operating life for the power plants plus decommissioning operations.

This waste generates less heat than HLW and thus is suitable for storage sooner.

  • Industrial geological storage centre project (Centre industriel de stockage géologique, Cigéo) 

Overview

The Cigéo project is the French deep geological storage facility project for ILW-LL and HLW radioactive waste produced by all French nuclear installations through to decommissioning, including waste from the processing of spent fuel used in nuclear power plants. The project is being led by France’s National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs, ANDRA). The centre is to be located in the east of France at the border of the Meuse and Haute-Marne départements.

After 15 years of research, evaluation and public debate, the principle of deep geological storage was adopted by French Act No. 2006-739 of 28 June 2006 as amended on the sustainable management of radioactive materials and waste as a safe long-term solution to manage this type of waste without shifting the burden onto future generations. Cigéo will consist of surface facilities that will be used to receive and prepare waste packages as well as to excavate and build the necessary underground structures. The waste will be stored in underground facilities some 500 metres below ground in an impermeable argillaceous rock formation able to contain radioactivity over very long periods (several hundreds of thousands of years). Cigéo is designed to operate for at least 100 years and provides flexibility in order to give future generations a maximum number of possibilities to adapt it as needed.

Pending its storage in deep-level geological layers, HLW and ILW-LL waste from spent fuel processing is being stored on the Orano site in La Hague in dedicated installations.

Key stages

ANDRA’s reference schedule first calls for a pilot industrial phase. Delivery of the first waste is planned to commence between 2035 and 2040.

On 11 January 2018, the ASN considered that the Cigéo project had on the whole reached a satisfactory technological maturity at the safety options dossier stage. The detailed design review was organised at the request of the DGEC (French General Directorate for Energy & Climate) by a group of independent experts. At the end of 2020, it handed down a generally favourable opinion on the dossier presented by ANDRA. It made a certain number of recommendations for finalisation of the application for authorisation to create the centre. In particular, it called for closer involvement of EDF and Orano in the preparation of the application to be submitted.

The public enquiry in connection with the declaration of public utility was held from 15 September to 23 October 2021, and also concluded with a favourable opinion (with five recommendations directed to the project owner) of the investigating commissioners, which was made public on 20 December 2021. The findings of the commission noted that the public enquiry had “resulted in a large number of contributions from the public, most of them with extensive supporting arguments” and that Cigéo was “opportune, relevant, and robust”.

Prior to the enquiry, a second expert appraisal of Cigéo’s Social and Economic Evaluation by France’s General Secretariat for Investment (Secrétariat général pour l’investissement, SGPI) had resulted in a favourable opinion “both for the overall project and its transportation aspect”. It highlighted the fact that “the Cigéo project offers high prudential and insurance value with respect to environmental and health risks”.

In an opinion issued on 13 January 2021, the French Environmental Authority emphasised the educational nature of the environmental evaluation. It made a series of recommendations, which ANDRA has taken into account in the public enquiry dossier.

(1) Commission Nationale du Débat Public, i.e. French national public debate committee.

(2) IRSN: Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire (French Radiation protection and Nuclear Safety Institute).