NATIONAL ASSESSMENT BOARD FOR RESEARCH AND THE STUDIES INTO THE MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS instituted by the law n°2006-739 of June 28, 2006 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT BOARD ASSESSMENT REPORT NO 11 President: Jean-Claude DUPLESSY Vice-Presidents: Maurice LEROY & Gilles PIJAUDIER-CABOT General Secretary & Scientific Advisor: Stanislas POMMERET Administrative secretary: Véronique ADA-FAUCHEUX & Florence LEDOUX www.cne2.fr 244 boulevard Saint-Germain • 75007 Paris • Phone: +33 1 44 49 80 93 ISSN: 2259-115X MAY 2017 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT BOARD Members of National Assessement Board: Jean-Claude DUPLESSY Anna CRETI Frank DECONINCK Pierre DEMEULENAERE Robert GUILLAUMONT Vincent LAGNEAU Maurice LAURENT Emmanuel LEDOUX* Mickaële LE RAVALEC Maurice LEROY José-Luis MARTINEZ Gilles PIJAUDIER-CABOT Claes THEGERSTRÖM General Secretary & Scientific Advisor: Stanislas POMMERET Honorary President: Bernard TISSOT Administrative secretary: Véronique ADA-FAUCHEUX Florence LEDOUX * Invited Expert NATIONAL ASSESSMENT BOARD FOR RESEARCH AND STUDIES INTO THE MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS AND WASTE Established by law no.2006-739 of 28 June 2006 ASSESSMENT REPORT No. 11 MAY 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................................... 5 COMPOSITION OF THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT BOARD ........................................................................... 7 SUMMARY - CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 9 CHAPTER 1: CIGÉO .................................................................................................................................. 13 1.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 13 1.2 THE WASTE INTENDED FOR CIGÉO .......................................................................................................... 13 1.3 THE BOARD'S ANALYSIS OF THE SAFETY OPTIONS DOSSIER ........................................................................... 14 1.3.1 The methods of closure of the repository with regard to reversibility ................................... 14 1.3.2 The role of the operational master plan ................................................................................ 15 1.3.3 Cigéo in operation .................................................................................................................. 15 1.3.4 The industrial pilot phase....................................................................................................... 16 1.3.5 Demonstration of safety after closure ................................................................................... 16 1.4 WORK UNDERTAKEN IN THE SCOPE OF THE DETAILED PRELIMINARY DESIGN .................................................... 16 1.4.1 What content for the DAC? .................................................................................................... 16 1.4.2 The link between research and the engineering .................................................................... 17 1.4.3 Uncertainties.......................................................................................................................... 18 1.5 RESEARCH UNDERTAKEN BY ANDRA FOR THE DAC .................................................................................... 19 1.5.1 Sizing of the underground structures ..................................................................................... 19 1.5.2 THM sizing of the high-level areas ......................................................................................... 20 1.5.3 Transient resaturation and the release of gas ....................................................................... 20 1.5.4 Migration of radionuclides .................................................................................................... 22 1.5.5 The role of the seals ............................................................................................................... 22 1.6 FUNDING, METHODOLOGY AND CONTRACT ENGINEERING OF THE PROJECT ..................................................... 23 1.7 GOVERNANCE .................................................................................................................................... 25 1.7.1 Governance of Cigéo .............................................................................................................. 25 1.7.2 Governance of the downstream cycle.................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 2: SEPARATION AND TRANSMUTATION .................................................................................. 27 2.1 THE ASTRID PROJECT ..................................................................................................................... 27 2.1.1 Context ................................................................................................................................... 27 2.2 PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS .................................................................................................... 27 2.2.1 Time line ................................................................................................................................ 28 2.2.2 Detailed preliminary design 2016-2019 ................................................................................. 29 2.3 THE CYCLE OF PLUTONIUM-RICH FUEL ..................................................................................................... 29 2.3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 29 2.3.2 Stock of plutonium - Storage of PWR MOX ............................................................................ 30 2.3.3 MOX reprocessing .................................................................................................................. 30 2.3.4 From Astrid to a fleet of FNRs ................................................................................................ 31 2.4 SEPARATION OF AMERICIUM AND TRANSMUTATION ................................................................................... 31 2.4.1 Choice of americium .............................................................................................................. 31 2.4.2 Obtaining the americium ....................................................................................................... 32 2.4.3 Irradiation of americium ........................................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER 3: CLEAN-UP AND WASTE RECOVERY ....................................................................................... 35 3.1 C&D AND WASTE RECOVERY AND CONDITIONING OPERATIONS: THE STATE OF PLAY ......................................... 35 3.2 R&D FOR CONDITIONING OF NEW WASTE ................................................................................................ 36 3.2.1 Bituminous waste .................................................................................................................. 36 3.2.2 Polymer waste ....................................................................................................................... 37 3.2.3 Waste containing reactive metals ......................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 4: LOW-LEVEL AND VERY LOW-LEVEL WASTE ......................................................................... 39 4.1 GENERAL INFORMATION ...................................................................................................................... 39 4.2 MINING WASTE .................................................................................................................................. 40 4.3 TENORM ........................................................................................................................................... 40 4.4 HISTORIC WASTE ................................................................................................................................. 41 4.5 VLLW AND THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY ....................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 5: FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH ................................................................................................. 43 5.1 NEEDS .............................................................................................................................................. 43 5.2 NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS .................................................................................................................... 44 5.3 HUMAN RESOURCES IN NATIONAL RESEARCH ............................................................................................ 45 CHAPTER 6: INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA ............................................................................................. 47 6.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 47 6.2 RESEARCH LABORATORIES AND GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL SITES ........................................................................ 47 6.2.1 Recent developments ............................................................................................................