Radioactive waste: Elisabeth Borne and Bernard Doroszczuk announce the next directions

Following the national debate on the management of radioactive materials and waste held in 2019, the national committee and the special committee for public debate issued their conclusions on 25 November 2019.

The Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition and the President of the Nuclear Safety Authority, in view of the questions, subjects of interest and concerns which were raised during this debate and discussions with stakeholders, confirm that the plan national radioactive materials and waste management (PNGMDR) will be updated for a fifth edition, for public consultation before the end of 2020, and have decided the following guidelines:

• Better articulate energy policy and waste management policy: the periodicity of the PNGMDR will be brought into line with the multi-annual energy programming, the articulation with the strategies for final shutdown and dismantling of industrialists better explained;
• Strengthen the governance of radioactive waste management: the PNGMDR development and monitoring body will be extended to elected representatives of the Nation, civil society and representatives of local authorities, in addition to the participation of associations for the protection of the environment ;
• Reinforce the control of the recoverable nature of radioactive materials: for materials which are currently not recovered, manufacturers will commit to intermediate deadlines in action plans, which will be periodically reassessed;
• Respond to the need for new spent fuel storage capacities: the PNGMDR will plan the implementation of new centralized storage capacities under water, taking into account the time required for their construction. He will study the conditions and situations in which dry storage could be useful;
• Allow to recover, when relevant, by targeted exemptions, certain metallic waste of very low activity and define the methods of such recovery;
• Continue to define the conditions for implementing the Cigeo project, in particular the methods of involving the public in the structuring stages of the project, as well as R&D on alternative management methods;
• Reinforce the evaluation of the impact of management choices on the territory and on economic, health and environmental issues (impact of transport, harmfulness of waste, etc.): the public debate has shown a particular sensitivity to these aspects.

What is the National Plan for Radioactive Materials and Waste Management (PNGMDR)?

French policy concerning radioactive materials and waste aims to ensure their sustainable management, while respecting the protection of human health, safety and the environment. This policy is based in particular on the establishment of a national plan for the management of radioactive materials and waste (PNGMDR), on transparency, public information and democracy measures and on securing funding for the dismantling of nuclear installations. and radioactive waste management.

Article L. 542-1-2 of the environment code provides for the adoption every three years of a national plan for the management of radioactive materials and waste (PNGMDR).

The PNGMDR takes stock of existing management methods for radioactive materials and waste, identifies the foreseeable needs for storage or disposal facilities, and specifies the capacities necessary for these facilities and the storage times.