The management of radioactive waste in France is under the responsibility of the Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs (ANDRA). It is governed by the loi relative aux recherches sur la gestion des déchets radioactifs of 1991, amended in 2006 by the loi de programme relative à la gestion durable des matières et déchets radioactifs. According to this law, a radioactive waste is a substance containing radionuclides, natural or artificial, whose specific activity or concentration justifies radiation protection control, and for which no further use is planned or foreseen. In France, the owner of the waste remains responsible for it and ensures its management, in accordance with the law. The total volume of this waste was estimated by ANDRA at approximately 1,540,000 cubic metres (54,000,000 cu ft) at the end of 2016, of which only 3,650 metres (11,975.066 ft) consists of high-level and long-lived waste, the most hazardous. This total volume could reach, according to ANDRA's prospective scenarios, between 4,372,000 and 5,048,000 metres (14,343,832.021 and 16,561,679.790 ft) (including 10,000 to 32,500 metres (32,808.399 to 106,627.297 ft) of high-level waste) by the end of the decommissioning of facilities authorized as of the end of 2016.
National plan for the management of radioactive materials and waste According to the program law relating to the sustainable management of radioactive materials and waste of 2006, a radioactive waste is a substance containing radionuclides, natural or artificial, whose activity or concentration justifies radioprotection control, and for which no further use is planned or foreseen. In France, the owner of the waste remains responsible for it and ensures its management, in accordance with the law. The management of radioactive waste is planned in a "National Plan for the Management of Radioactive Materials and Waste" (PNGMDR), updated every three years. This plan provides for differentiated waste management, adapted to their hazardousness and "radioactive lifespan", in five waste categories: high-level activity (0.2% of total volume in 2009), medium-level activity and long-lived (3.6% in 2009), low-level activity and long-lived (7.2% in 2009), low and medium-level activity and short-lived (68.8% in 2009), very low-level activity (20.1% in 2009, with a significant increase expected due to future decommissioning of facilities, with projects to integrate into the regulations the possibility of clearance of low-level radioactive materials. This coincides with the publication by the IAEA and the European Commission of new basic radiation protection standards (BSS) in 1996, which specify this concept). The second version of the PNGMDR dates from 2010. This plan combines two strategic axes: the processing of spent nuclear fuel, and the storage of "ultimate waste". The concept of ultimate and non-recoverable waste is not specific to the nuclear industry, but is common in the law of waste management in general. The "Loi Bataille" of 28 June 2006 distinguishes ultimate radioactive waste from recoverable radioactive materials (depleted uranium, irradiated fuel, uranium from reprocessing, plutonium reusable in MOX fuel, MOX, etc.). The release of liquid and gaseous radioactive effluents is not covered by this plan, but is governed by specific authorizations, as are mining residues currently regulated by radioprotection standards under mining law (under revision). The third PNGMDR, for the period 2013–2015, was submitted to Parliament by the Government on 28 December 2012, prepared since 2007 under the auspices of the Nuclear Safety Authority and the ministry in charge of energy. It led to a decree on 27 December 2013. This plan integrates the requirements of the European directive of 19 July 2011 establishing a community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. The plan emphasizes the need to develop comprehensive industrial management schemes and management methods for high-level and medium-level long-lived waste. The 2016-2018 plan, opens new avenues, particularly regarding the long-term harmfulness of radioactive waste from a global environmental perspective, the long-term recovery prospects of certain radioactive materials, or the storage strategies implemented by operators pending the establishment of definitive management solutions. The 2019-2021 plan, for the first time, was subject to a public debate organized by the Commission nationale du débat public. This public debate on the fifth edition of the PNGMDR took place from 17 April to 25 September 2019.
History The first radioactive waste came from the industrial use of radium, research, and medicine, followed by military and energy uses. The production and hazardousness of this waste have significantly increased from the 1940s to the present day. Two types of waste are often distinguished:
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