Operating the very low activity radioactive waste storage site at ANDRA (CIRES), France

Veolia Nuclear Solutions has been operating the industrial center for the collection and storage of very low-level radioactive waste (Centre Industriel de Regroupement, d’Entreposage et de Stockage - CIRES) since 2008. This center is owned by the French agency for the management of radioactive waste (Agence Nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs - ANDRA).

By managing and maintaining various workshops and equipment, Veolia Nuclear Solutions has been able to develop the following fields of expertise:

Designing, constructing and operating the very low activity waste stabilization site

Injecting packages into cells, including tritiated packages

Degassing radiferous packages

Reducing the volume of solid waste

Waste logistics

Designing storage facilities

Quality control for solid waste

Each year, almost 25,000 packages are accepted, checked, prepared and put into storage. Through this process, the proper acceptance procedures and handling techniques for low-level radioactive waste are applied, with a focus on safety rules, radiation protection, and the protection of the environment.

The ANDRA CIRES site, in Morvilliers (Aube, France), receives nearly 30,000 m³ of waste each year.

In 2008, ANDRA entrusted Veolia Nuclear Solutions with the following services:

facility maintenance

radiological and environmental monitoring

effluent management

logistic and assistance tasks for ANDRA

general site management

In 2011, the services entrusted to Veolia were extended to operating control cell C016, consisting of opening, checking and inspecting parcel quality, in terms both of physicochemical and activity characteristics.
Following a tendering procedure launched by ANDRA for the renewal of the CIRES operation contract, a new 7-year contract as the facility operator was awarded to Veolia Nuclear Solutions. 

According to the terms of this new contract, starting at the end of 2015, Veolia Nuclear Solutions operates and maintains all CIRES facilities (logistics building, treatment building, VLA waste storage compartments, active waste grouping building, active waste storage building, maintenance and parcel inspection).