The industrial facility for Grouping, Storage and Disposal

The industrial facility for
Grouping, Storage and Disposal
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Contents
Andra in the Aube département:
an exemplary industrial operator
The industrial facility for grouping, storage and disposal (called Cires
in French)
04/05
Disposal of very-low-level waste (VLLW)
06/07
The journey taken by VLL waste
08/09
Grouping of non-nuclear-power waste
10
Storage of non-nuclear-power waste
11
The journey taken by non-nuclear-power waste
12/13
Protecting present and future generations
14/15
The Cires Facility
Storm water basin and
settling basin
Earth stockpile area
Storage building
Processing building
Administrative building
Logistics building
Collection building
Disposal area
First tranche
of the final cover
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Mobile shelter
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Cires facility
The industrial facility for grouping, storage and
disposal (called Cires in French), in the Aube département, is
run by Andra.
The facility is licensed to dispose of very-low-level waste, to
collect non-nuclear-power radioactive waste and to provide
storage for some of the waste for which a final management
solution has not yet been found.
The Cires facility is located a few kilometres from the Aube
disposal facility (CSA), another of Andra's waste disposal facilities,
currently dealing with low- and intermediate-level, short-lived waste.
For more than 20 years, Andra has been open about developing its
industrial activity in the Aube in an exemplary fashion, in accordance with strict
rules and procedures, with the constant aim of protecting man and the environment.
To find out all about the centres and understand how radioactive waste is managed,
you can visit Andra's facilities in the Aube free of charge and go right into the heart of
the centres as they work.
Patrice Torres
Director of Andra waste disposal facilities in the Aube
ing
So what is Andra?
The French national agency for radioactive waste management
is a publicly-owned industrial and commercial body. It is under
the supervision of the ministries responsible for energy, the
environment and research, and its role is to find, implement and
guarantee safe management solutions for all French radioactive
waste, in order to protect present and future generations from
the hazard constituted by this waste.
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The industrial facility for
Grouping, Storage and Disposal
(Cires)
Located in the Aube département in the towns of Morvilliers and La Chaise, the Cires facility has
three activities: storage, collection and disposal
WHAT DOES CIRES DO?
Andra has been taking and disposing of very low
level waste (VLLW) in its Cires facility since2003.
Since autumn 2012, the Cires facility has been
performing two new functions: collection and
temporary storage of non-nuclear-power waste.
1
The collection building is like a routing centre. The
waste packages are sorted and grouped together
by category before being sent on to the processing,
storage or disposal facilities.
The storage building takes in temporarily certain
packages for which disposal solutions are currently
being studied.
KEY FIGURES
•4
6 hectares in area for the Cires facility
•2
8.5 hectares dedicated to the disposal area
•5
50 m2 for the collection building
•2
,000 m2 for the storage building
2
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Cires Facility
WHAT IS RADIOACTIVE WASTE?
Radioactive waste is a substance for which no further use is planned.
The radioactive waste produced in France comes from numerous economic sectors that use the
properties of radioactivity. There are specific procedures for dealing with it.
Origin by economic sector of existing radioactive waste in France:
Nuclear power
59%
Research
26%
Defence
11%
Non nuclear power industry
3%
Healthcare
1%
(Source: National inventory of radioactive materials and waste 2012:
Synthesis report
)
Did you know?
3
Radioactivity is a phenomenon that has occurred naturally in
the environment since the Earth was first created. It is present in
water, air, rock and even the human body. It decreases naturally over
time, more or less quickly depending on the type of radionuclides.
The time taken for a quantity of a radionuclide to be divided by two is
called its half life.
5 waste categories
There are many criteria for differentiating between various types of radioactive waste: source,
physical and chemical properties, level and type of radioactivity, half life, and so on. For their
management, in France they are classified according to numerous criteria, in particular:
- T heir radioactivity level expressed in becquerels per gramme. The level of radioactivity or
"activity" may be very low, low, intermediate or high.
1
Laboratory waste
2
Radium lightning conductors
3
Examples of VLLW
- T
heir lifetime depends on the half life of each radionuclide they contain. Waste whose
radioactivity mainly comes from short-lived radionuclides (half life up to and including 31
years) is called “short-lived” waste, whereas the opposite applies to waste containing a
significant quantity of long-lived radionuclides (half life greater than 31 years).
There are 5 categories of radioactive waste:
• Very-low-level waste (VLLW)
• Low- and intermediate-level, short-lived waste (LILW-SL)
• Low-level, long-lived waste (LLW-LL)
• Intermediate-level, long-lived waste (ILW-LL)
• High-level waste (HLW)
Some waste, mainly from hospitals, has a half live of less than 100 days. Because of its very
short half life, this waste is put into temporary storage on site, for a few days or a few months,
which is long enough for its radioactivity to disappear naturally.
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Disposal of very-low-level waste
(VLLW)
Radioactive-waste management has developed over time. Over 40 years ago, France opted for
disposal in industrial facilities as the solution for managing waste in a safe, durable way. The
disposal for very-low-level waste started in the Aube in 2003.
A SPECIFIC SOLUTION
FOR VLL WASTE
VLL waste is disposed of in a dedicated facility, the
first disposal facility in the world designed for this type
of radioactive waste. Approximately 30,000 m3
of radioactive waste are processed every year.
Waste is disposed of above ground in structures
176 metres long and 25 metres wide dug down to a
depth of a few metres in the clay layer.
Once filled, these structures are closed by
caps consisting of a layer of sand several tens of
centimetres thick, a geomembrane to ensure that the
disposal structure is waterproof, and a protective UVresistant geotextile.
A layer of clay is then placed over the structures to
guarantee long-term containment.
WHERE DOES VLL WASTE COME FROM?
VLL waste consists mainly of very slightly contaminated
earth, rubble, scrap metal, etc., from the
decommissioning or operation of nuclear facilities
or from conventional industries using naturally
radioactive materials.
VLL waste can also come from clean-up and
remediation of legacy sites polluted by radioactivity,
and for which Andra has decontamination responsibility
as part of its public service role.
Its level of radioactivity is usually less than 100 becquerels
per gramme, which is less than natural radioactivity.
According to the National inventory of radioactive
materials and waste 2012, Synthesis report : VLL
waste identified since it was first produced, constituted
in December 2010, 27% of the total volume of
radioactive waste produced in France, i.e. 360,000 m3
and less than 0.01% of the total radioactivity of French
radioactive waste.
By the end of 2012, 227,448 m3 of VLL waste had been
disposed of in the Cires facility.
KEY FIGURES
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•6
50,000 m3 of total disposal capacity
according to the licence
•2
27,448 m3 of waste in the disposal facility
at the end of 2012, i.e. 35% of total capacity
•1
2 cells filled as at end of 2012
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Cires Facility
WHY IS DISPOSAL NECESSARY?
Radioactivity is a phenomenon which decreases naturally with time.
In order to isolate radioactive waste for as long as it constitutes a hazard for man and the
environment, France, like many other countries, opted, over 40 years ago, for disposal in facilities
appropriate for each type of waste. Radioactive waste is classified into 5 categories according
to its level of radioactivity and half life. The way each type of waste is managed depends on its
category.
The principle underlying disposal consists in isolating the waste long enough for the radioactivity
no longer to constitute a hazard for the people with whom it could be in contact, due to its natural
decay.
In France today, three disposal solutions are planned for dealing with all the radioactive waste
produced:
a Above-ground or "surface" disposal
b Near-surface or "shallow" land disposal (currently being studied)
c
Deep geological disposal (currently being studied)
1
The French and Spanish
exception
a
b
Because of the very low level of activity of this type
of waste, most countries consider it as conventional
waste.
France, followed by Spain, has decided to deal with it in
dedicated facilities.
c
3
1 Three types of disposal are planned in France 2
helter structure protecting the disposal cell from rain
S
during operation
3
Disposal cell being filled
07
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The journey taken
by VLL waste
The waste circuit, from production to disposal,
comprises a number of steps, all of which are subject to
strict, rigorous checks.
Package preparation
Before being sent to the Cires facility,
the waste is prepared by the producers
and most of it is packaged in metal
containers or in plastic-lined big bags.
➡
➡
➡
Package
being delivered to the
facility
Virtually all the VLL waste packages are
transported from the producers to the
disposal facility by road, in compliance
with strict international regulations
(producers are responsible for transport).
On average every year: 10 trucks per
working day.
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➡
➡➡
➡➡
➡
Most VLL waste comes from the
decommissioning or operation of
nuclear facilities, conventional industry
using radioactivity, clean-up operations
and remediation of legacy polluted
sites.
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Production
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Cires facility
1
2
3
1
Compacted
waste
2 Radiological inspection of a container on arrival
at the disposal facility
Processing and
repackaging of certain
packages before disposal
3 Containers stored in the logistics building
• Some plastic waste or scrap metal is
compacted in order to reduce its volume.
• Sludge and liquid waste are solidified.
Arriving at the
Cires facility
Checks are carried out to verify
the level of radioactivity of the
transport containers and the
radiological characteristics of the
waste or the waste packages.
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➡➡
➡
➡➡➡
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➡
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Disposal
85% of the waste received has already been
processed and packaged and can be put
straight into the disposal system.
Every year, approximately 30,000 m3
of waste is put into disposal in the structures
dug out of the clay.
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Grouping
of non-nuclear-power waste
Since the autumn of 2012, Andra has had a grouping building for non-nuclear-power radioactive
waste. Until then, most waste was grouped in a building on the CEA site in Saclay near Paris.
WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE GROUPING
BUILDING?
It is a transit building, where non-nuclear-power
radioactive waste from various sites in France is
grouped before being oriented to specialised facilities
for:
• processing;
• conditioning;
• disposal: for very low level waste (VLLW) in the
Cires facility and for low- and intermediate-level
short-lived waste (LILW-SL) in the CSA;
or
• storage for long-lived waste in the Cires facility
since 2012 until a final management system can be
implemented.
WHAT TYPES OF WASTE ARE COVERED?
The grouping building takes in various types of nonnuclear-power waste:
• Gloves, plastic items, vials, overalls, etc., from
hospitals, research, pharmaceutical laboratories or
other sectors of industry;
• Lightning conductors, smoke detectors, and other
radioactive objects owned by private individuals.
KEY FIGURES
• 4,000
to 5,000 packages in transit per
year
•2
,600 m3 of waste collected every year
by Andra
The grouping building has 5 main functions:
• r eception of non-nuclear-power waste;
1
• interim storage of waste packages;
• c onditioning for some waste packages;
• shipping waste to elimination installations
(incineration) or processing facilities before it is
put into storage or disposal depending on its half
life;
• management of empty collection packages.
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Cires facility
Storage
of non-nuclear-power waste
Long-lived non-nuclear-power radioactive waste does not yet have a dedicated repository in
France. It has been put into storage until facilities adapted to its specific characteristics have
been opened. Since 2012, the Cires facility has had a building for storage of this type of waste.
WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE STORAGE
BUILDING?
This building's main function is to take in temporarily
non-nuclear-power radioactive waste which does
not currently have a disposal solution.
Until 2012, this waste was kept in storage by Socatri
in Bollène in the south of France, or in CEA facilities.
There is not enough room in some of these premises,
and some are due for demolition.
The waste involved is long-lived non-nuclear-power
waste which does not currently have a disposal
solution:
• r adioactive lightning conductors;
• r adioactive objects owned by private individuals:
radium fountains, luminous objects, etc.;
• r adioactive medical material that became collectors'
items between the wars: radium needles, tubes and
compresses;
• s ome long-lived waste from historic sites polluted
by radioactivity that Andra is due to clean up: earth,
rubble, etc.
KEY FIGURES
•5
00 to 1,000 m3 of waste packages
per year delivered during the first two
years, corresponding to the period during
which the waste is transferred from the
existing storage facilities
•2
50 m3 of waste packages per year on
average delivered during the following
years
1 Collection of non-nuclear-power waste
before sorting, processing and disposal
or storage.
WHAT TYPES OF WASTE ARE COVERED?
2
2 Decontaminating a polluted site in
Gif-sur-Yvette, near Paris.
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The journey taken by
non-nuclear-power
waste
CENTRE DE
REGROUPEMENT
The types of waste covered
Radioactive waste from hospitals,
research laboratories,
pharmaceutical laboratories or other
non-nuclear-power industries
(100 m3 per year).
Sorting
Grouping
As soon as radioactive waste is
produced, it is sorted by its producers
according to its radioactive half life
and type.
Andra collects radioactive waste
directly from the producers and
sends it to its grouping building,
where it is sorted by family
before being sent to the facilities
corresponding to its specific
characteristics.
Radioactive lightning conductors
(600 per year on average).
Radioactive objects owned by
private individuals (about a
hundred per year).
Waste generated from the clean-up
of polluted sites (2,500 m3 per year).
Historic radioactive objects
containing radium used in
healthcare (a few per year)
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Cires facility
Every year Andra collects almost 2,600 m3 of non-nuclear-power radioactive waste
Because there are a great many types of non-nuclear-power waste, and because it is spread all
over France, it requires specific procedures, with major milestones, from the time it is collected
until it is put into a repository or into storage.
RADIOACTIVE
RADIOACTIVE
RADIOACTIVE
ENTREPOSAGE
RADIOACTIVE
Processing
Storage
Disposal
Radioactive waste is solidified and/
or reduced in volume before being put
into disposal packages.
Some waste has to be put into interim
storage as there is no operational
disposal facility for it. This is applicable
to low-level long-lived waste (LLW-LL)
Depending on their radioactivity level,
waste packages are oriented to the
Cires or CSA facility for disposal.
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Protecting present and future
generations
To check that the Cires facility's impact remains as low as possible, the facility and its
environment are very closely monitored.
MONITORING THE ENVIRONMENT
According to regulations, the annual dose of
radioactivity from industrial activities must be as low
as possible and cannot exceed 1 milliSievert (mSv) for
the public.
To ensure that the impact of its activities remains
as low as possible, the Cires facility carries out
over 1,500 radiological and physical/chemical
analyses every year both inside the facility and in the
environment. The purpose is mainly to check:
SURVEILLANCE OF THE DISPOSAL AREA AFTER
CLOSURE
The disposal facility will continue being monitored for
30 years after being closed, i.e. a period equivalent
to that applied for final-industrial-waste disposal
facilities.
• water in the streams;
• s ediments;
• discharge into the atmosphere.
The various surveillance points are defined by the bylaw regulating the disposal facility's activities.
Every year, Andra issues a report giving its results
in the fields of safety, radiation protection and
environmental surveillance. The reports can be
consulted on the Andra website and they are available
on request.
2
In addition, every quarter since 2009, Andra as
an active member of the "National Network for
the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity"
sends in about 100 measurements, which are then
published on the national website
www.mesure-radioactivite.fr.
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Cires facility
Did you know?
1 mSv is the maximum allowable annual dose for
the public.
This corresponds to:
1
• 3 chest X-rays
• 9 months spent in a granite region
• 1 year at an altitude of 1,500 metres
• 17 months in the Paris area
• 7 Paris-San Francisco round-trips by air
An installation classified
on environmental protection grounds
The industrial facility for Grouping, Storage and Disposal (Centre
industriel de regroupement, d’entreposage et de stockage Cires) is an Installation Classified for Environmental Protection
(Installation Classée pour la Protection de l’Environnement ICPE). The Regional Directorate for the Environment, Development
and Housing (Direction Régionale de l’Environnement, de
l’Aménagement et du Logement - DREAL) ensures compliance
with the operating and surveillance rules set by by-laws.
Every year, Andra submits an annual report to the members
of the Local Information and Surveillance Committee
(Commission Locale d’Information et de Surveillance CLIS).
1
Installing new filter for checking air quality
2
Apparatus capable of trapping tritium or carbon 14 present in the air
3 Water samples collected for analysis
3
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Information
IS AVAILABLE
ON
AGENCE
AGENCE NATIONALE
NATIONALE POUR
POUR LA
LA GESTION
GESTION DES
DES
DÉCHETS
DÉCHETS RADIOACTIFS
RADIOACTIFS
Centres
Andra's industriels
industrial facilities
de l’Andra
in dans
the Aube
l’Aube
BP
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•10200 Soulaines-Dhuys
Soulaines-Dhuys -- France
France
www.andra.fr
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cires_juillet2013.indd 16
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