Law Battles

History

Context

Law 91-1381 of December 30th, 1991 was born from the difficulties encountered by ANDRA to find a site for the establishment of a underground Research laboratory.

After some research undertaken by the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (ECA) during the years 1960, the Gruson report/ratio launches in 1974 a true research program on the French sites favorable to the storage of the radioactive waste and the selection criteria of such a site. France collaborates within a European program as from 1976 and is then more specifically in charge of the study of the granitic formations .

In January 1981, is a little more than one year after creation of the Andra, an work group on the downstream of the Cycle of nuclear fuel is created by the Superior council of nuclear safety (CSSN) on the initiative of the Minister of Industry Pierre Dreyfus. The commission chaired by the professor Raimond Castaing meets between 1982 and 1984 and studies the possible evolutions of the worn nuclear fuel and the radioactive waste. It gives an opinion in favor of geological storage, by recommending that other geological formations that the granite are studied. It also introduces the concept of underground laboratory.

Causes of the law

The strategy retained by the government then implies as of these years the realization of underground laboratories. A new work group mainly made up of Géologue S is created by the Superior council of nuclear safety on the initiative of Edith Cresson in June 1985. In May 1987, this work group directed by Professor Jean Goguel submits a report to the government in order to define the technical criteria to judge adequacy of a geological formation to the storage of radioactive waste. On this basis, the Andra, then an entity within ECA, seeks in connection with the Bureau of geological and mining research (BRGM) of the zones geologically favourable with the establishment of a center of storage. Between 1988 and 1989, four zones are identified in the Ain, the Aisne, the Maine-et-Loire and the Two-Sevres.

The geological recognition of these zones starts without Concertation with the population. Sharp local oppositions appear and force Andra to give up research on these sites, in spite of the sending of mobile guards to ensure the protection of the scientists. In order to solve the situation and to avoid serious disorders, the Prime Minister Michel Rocard decides on a Moratoire on February 9th, 1990 for one period of at least 12 months. It also seizes the Parliament which calls upon the Parliamentary office of evaluation of the scientific and technological choices (OPECST) and entrusts to Christian Bataille the mission of re-examining the entirety of the device organizes research on the management of the radioactive waste in three axes: separation/Transmutation, geological storage and the storage of long life.

This law traces contours of a research program to realize during fifteen years and states that the Parliament will have to see itself giving in 2006 a report of evaluation of this research. Three research orientations were defined: The government in addition asked the ECA to think of the concepts of storage in subsurface, which studies this question in particular with Marcoule (Gard).

Law lays out that storage in France of radioactive waste imported, even if them reprocessing were carried out on the national territory, which applies naturally to the Plant reprocessing of La Hague, is interdict beyond the technical times imposed by the reprocessing.

The law in addition introduced a parliamentary control of the research tasks, via the Parliamentary office of evaluation of the scientific and technological choices, to which is submitted each year a report/ratio on the advance of research, established by a National Commission of Evaluation (CNE) made up of national and international experts appointed by the Government, the National Assembly and the Senate.

Andra is in particular charged:

Law 91-1381 defines the conditions of installation and operating of the underground laboratories in articles 6 to 12. It fixes obligations of local Concertation before any work of recognition:

The deputy Christian Bataille, rapporteur of the law, is named mediator by stopped on December 17th, 1992. With resulting from the process of dialog, three sites are retained and Andra starts into 1994 of work of geological recognition. On these sites, public surveys are carried out, the Management of the Safety of Nuclear installations writes its conclusions and the government decides in December 1998 the establishment of a laboratory on the site of Bore-hole: it is the underground Research laboratory of Meuse/Haute-Marne.

Among the 3 sites studied between 1994 and 1997, the site of Vienna is only having a granitic geology. The conclusions of the DSIN are unfavourable on this site from the point of view hydrogeologic. After the selection of the site of Bore-hole, the government decides to continue research to find a site in the granite and created the collegial Mission of dialog granite. Pierre Drink, Philippe Huet and Jean Mingasson are designated members of the mission of dialog per decree on November 19th, 1999. They return their report/ratio on July 27th, 2000.

Lastly, the law envisages the constitution of a grouping of public interest (GIP) charged to implement the accompanying measures economic at the establishment of each laboratory.

Research initiated by the law

Strategy and Research programs on the management of the radioactive waste with high activity and long life - Delegated minister with Higher education and Research

Articles of ASN.

National Commission of evaluation

Presentation of the National Commission of evaluation

Center 1: separation and transmutation

ECA is charged to undertake research on thorough separation and the Transmutation of the radioactive elements to long life contained in waste.

nuclear Reprocessing - Site of Marcoule - -.

Installations of research

Thorough separation

Transmutation

Phoenix - stop of Super-Phenix in 1997

Center 2: storage in geological layer

The Andra is charged to undertake research on the Stockage of the radioactive waste in deep geological layer.

Report/ratio on the reversibility

Installation of research

Within the framework of research on axis 2, Andra carries out and exploits the underground research laboratory of Meuse/Haute-Marne.

Center 3: conditioning and storage of long life

ECA is charged to implement research on conditioning and the storage of long life of worn nuclear fuels and radioactive waste HAVL and MAVL. Installations of conditioning and storages with lifespans of about 50 years exist on the Site of Marcoule (workshop of solid waste processing, general-purpose intermediate storage for example) and on the Plant reprocessing of La Hague (workshops of vitrification, of compaction of the hulls and ends, storages EEV/SE and R7/T7).

From 1997 and following the report/ratio of the CNE, research on axis 3 are reinforced and the ECA produced an effort with structuring of this research. Various concepts are explored then studied.

Installations of research

Within the framework of this research, the ECA founds the technological platform of Cecer (Center of expertise on the conditioning and the storage of the radioactive materials).

Héra

Galatée

Galatée (Gallery Activities of Tests for Storage) is a demonstrator of gallery of storage of waste ha or fuels worn. Part of the gallery shelters models of various equipment of a storage (hood and transporter machine, stopper of protection against radiation) while an other part is intended for the experimentation of the behavior of the concrete of coating under the effect of an increase in the temperature (simulating the presence of waste or exothermic worn fuels).

Communication

Visiatome

Notes and references of the article

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