Visit of the President of Enresa
On Thursday 9 February 2023, the CMHM welcomed José Luis Navarro Ribera, President of Enresa (Andra's Spanish counterpart agency) and three of his colleagues. This was an opportunity to become better acquainted with the Cigéo project, after discussions the day before with Pierre-Marie Abadie and Adolphe Colrat and Patrice Torres.
José Luis Navarro Ribera (Executive Chairman of Enresa), accompanied by Álvaro Rodríguez Beceiro (Technical Director), María Pérez Fernández (Communications and Sustainability Director) and Joaquín Farias Seifert (Head of International and R&D), spent the morning of 9 February in Bure for a presentation and tour of the underground Laboratory. The Spanish team was impressed by the work already carried out and the progress of the project.
Sarah Dewonck and Jean-François Giroud (Exirys) guided the visitors through the galleries and answered their questions about the properties of the argillite and materials in general.
For its trip to Meuse/Haute-Marne, the delegation was guided by our colleague Paola Vilarino (international relations department).
A visit to Headquarters the day before
In the framework of the Andra/Enresa cooperation agreement, the President of Enresa had an exchange the day before with Pierre-Marie Abadie and Adolphe Colrat for an overview of French radioactive waste management policy and Andra's activities. He had also had the opportunity to talk, a little later in the day, with Patrice Torres.
Disposal of radioactive waste: where does Spain stand?
Since 1985, work has been carried out to study the different options for geological disposal of high-level waste and special waste. In particular, a precise analysis of Spanish geological formations has been carried out to identify those that could host the disposal.
At present, Spain is continuing its research, particularly on updating knowledge of the location and basic data of the different technologies that could be used for geological disposal. It is also planning a programme to identify a site for the disposal.
The draft of the 7th National Plan for Radioactive Waste Management in Spain, which is currently being drawn up, considers that the preferred option for the management of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF), HLW and special waste is to have a geological repository that would come into operation from 2073, after a previous period of storage of this waste directly in the Nuclear Power Plants 'sites.
