CHAMPAGNE-ARDENNES STOCKAGE DE DECHETS TRES FAIBLEMENT RADIOACTIFS (DEPOSITORY FOR “VERY LOW-ACTIVITY” WASTE) -- under development Purpose/type : disposal center for wastes said to be of very-low activity (TFA)Location: 45ha at Morvilliers (Aube), near Andra's Soulaines site (Aube) Operator : AndraPeriod of operation: startup planned for 2003 Materials handled: waste said to be of very low activity Nuclear materials : uranium, plutonium, tritium?Nominal capacity: 800,000 t Plans call for the center to be built on impermeable clay. Packages of waste will be placed in five-foot deep compartments dug out of the clay. France does not have an official definition for “very low activity waste.” Andra considers it to be waste with activity between 1 and 100 Bq per gram. Eighty percent of the waste sent to the site is expected to come from the nuclear industry; twenty percent from other industries. Omegatech, a company formed by Andra and France Déchets will market the services of the center. France Déchets is a subsidiary of Sita France, which is a member of the group Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux [NucW 23.ix.99; Ener 17.ix.99].. The facility will not be a nuclear installation but instead an “installation classée” regulated by the law of 19 July 1976. Andra is to file a request in 2001 for authorization to create the facility. |