Andra's centers, an international crossroads
Andra's facilities continue to attract authorities and decision-makers from foreign countries who have decisions to make concerning the management of radioactive waste, particularly high-level waste. Here's a look back at the visits of three foreign delegations last month (South Korea, Spain, Slovenia) and the situation in each of the countries concerned.
South Korea
At Andra's center in Meuse/Haute-Marne, the research and tests carried out at the underground laboratory in preparation for the Cigéo project are of interest to visitors from all over the world. The site recently welcomed the South Korean ambassador to France, Mr. CHOI Jai Chul. The disposal of high-level radioactive waste is a topical issue in Korea, with the site for an underground laboratory soon to be chosen.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korean Radioactive Waste Management Agency (KORAD) have issued a call for proposals for sites for an underground research facility, as part of a project for the geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The facility will be used to conduct studies on rock properties and disposal system performance, at a depth of 500 meters - similar to that of a future repository. An evaluation committee, under the aegis of KORAD, will assess the site proposals submitted by local governments in terms of geological suitability and against eight criteria. The aim is to complete the selection process by the end of the year. Construction is scheduled to start in 2026 and be completed in 2032. The operating period will be around 20 years, starting in 2030.
Spain
Andra's Meuse/Haute-Marne center also welcomed a visit from members of the Spanish Congress on June 28, accompanied by Enresa, the Agency's counterpart in Spain. These deputies are members of a commission called "Ponencia encargada de las relaciones por el CSN(1)", in which all political parties with parliamentary representation are represented. This commission deals with all aspects of nuclear issues, including the management of radioactive waste and the dismantling of nuclear power plants. It monitors the activity of the three players with a remit in these areas in Spain (Enresa, Ensa and Enusa) and proposes improvements, for example by encouraging the various ministries to promote regulations.
The visit takes place within the framework of a change in the commission's composition, following last year's elections in Spain, and the need for a geological disposal facility, or AGP(2), for Spain's most radioactive waste, as set out in the seventh edition of the country's general radioactive waste plan.
For Enresa, this approach is essential for managing all Spanish radioactive waste(3). The organization needs the support of Parliament to promote actions aimed at achieving operational geological disposal in 2073, which requires many years of upstream work.
(1)The Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN) is the Spanish safety authority
(2)Almacenamiento Geológico Profundo
(3)Low- and intermediate-level waste and very low-level waste are currently managed at the El Cabril surface disposal facility in the Cordoba region of Andalusia
Slovenia
Earlier in June, a large delegation of Slovenian journalists and bloggers visited Andra's disposal facility in La Manche, which is currently in the closure phase and disposes of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste. The Slovenian media are taking a keen interest in this subject, as the Slovenian Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ARAO) has just begun construction of radioactive waste disposal facilities on the Vrbina site in the east of the country.
Construction is scheduled for completion by 2027, followed by a test phase. In early 2028, the first operational phase will begin, to dispose of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from Slovenia's only nuclear power plant at Krsko, as well as radioactive waste from the medical, industrial and research sectors.
