ASN Report 2017

441 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 16  - Radioactive waste and contaminated sites and soils on the other hand the safety of the facilities dedicated to radioactive waste management (waste treatment, packaging, storage and disposal facilities). These activities are described in this chapter as well as in chapters 8 and 13. 1.2.2 Oversight of the packaging of waste packages Regulations The Order of 7th February 2012 defines the requirements associated with waste packaging. Producers of radioactive waste are instructed to package their waste taking into account the requirements associated with their subsequent management, and more particularly their acceptance at the disposal facilities. ASN resolution 2017-DC-0587 of 23rd March 2017 specifies the requirements regarding waste packaging for disposal and the conditions of acceptance of waste packages in the disposal BNIs. Production of waste packages intended for existing disposal facilities The waste package producers prepare an approval application file based on the acceptance specifications of the disposal facility that is to receive the packages. Andra delivers an approval formalising its agreement on the package manufacturing process and the quality of the packages. Andra verifies the conformity of the packages with the delivered approvals by means of audits and monitoring actions on the package producers’ premises and on the packages received at its facilities. Waste packages intended for projected disposal facilities With regard to disposal facilities currently being studied, the waste acceptance specifications have of course not yet been defined. Andra therefore cannot issue approvals to govern the production of packages for LLW-LL (Low-Level Long- Lived), HLW or ILW-LL waste. Under these conditions, the production of waste packages for a disposal facility currently being studied is subject to ASN approval on the basis of a file called “packaging baseline requirement”. This file must demonstrate that the packages display no unacceptable behaviour with respect the requirements regarding disposal conditions, on the basis of existing knowledge and the currently known requirements of the disposal facilities being studied. This provision also avoids delaying waste retrieval and packaging operations. Checks and inspections Alongside Andra’s surveillance of approved packages, ASN checks that the licensee correctly applies the requirements of the approval and has a satisfactory command of the packaging processes. For waste packages intended for disposal facilities still being studied, ASN applies particular vigilance to ensuring that the packages comply with the conditions of the issued packaging approvals. FOCUS Publication of ASN resolution 2017-DC-0587 of 23rd March 2017 relative to the packaging of radioactive waste and the conditions of acceptance of the radioactive waste packages in the disposal basic nuclear installations. The management of the radioactive waste produced during the operation and subsequent decommissioning of a BNI comprises successive and interdependent stages (pre- treatment, treatment, packaging, storage, transport and disposal). These stages constitute a management route. Each stage must be compatible with the stages that follow. More specifically, radioactive waste packages must be compatible with the safety case of the disposal facility to which they are directed. Furthermore, the packaging operations can imply radioactive waste transformations that would be hard to reverse. Consequently, their compatibility with the subsequent steps in the management route must be verified before they are performed. As the packaging operations can be carried out by a licensee other than the producer of the waste or the disposal facility operator, it is essential to design and produce radioactive waste packaging in compliance with the requirements of the disposal facilities. The aim of this new resolution is to specify the safety requirements in the various stages of a management route. This resolution sets out the provisions of the Order of 7th February 2012, especially Articles 6.7 and 6.8, and transposes several reference levels established by the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA). It also details the responsibilities of the radioactive waste producer, of the licensee that packages the waste and the licensee of the disposal facility to which the waste is directed, in order to apply the notion of “compatibility of radioactive waste packages with the planned conditions for their subsequent management” mentioned in Article 6.7 of the Order of 7th February 2012. Lastly, it provides a framework for the specifications that Andra must adopt in application of 4° of Article L. 542-12 of the Environment Code: “provide, in compliance with the rules of nuclear safety, the specifications for the disposal of radioactive waste and give the competent administrative authorities an opinion on the waste packaging specifications” . This resolution was approved on 13th June 2017 and shall be applicable as from 1st July 2018.