STORY – Launched decades ago, it has been rejected from the start by some opponents, who are particularly concerned about the risk of radioactive material spills in the basement.
If outgoing President Emmanuel Macron wants to launch a program to build six EPRs, the thorny issue of nuclear waste management still needs to be resolved. The Court of Auditors recalled last year that developing new reactors would require additional investment, in particular for the increase in the Cigeo project in Bure, in the Meuse.
Cigeo is the project to bury 500 meters underground some 85,000 m3 of the most radioactive waste in France, or those with a very long lifespan. According to the National Agency for the Management of Radioactive Waste (Andra), which is piloting the project, more than 50% of this waste already exists: pending their possible storage in the clay bowels of the Meuse, they are stored at the plant. reprocessing facilities at La Hague, (Manche), and at Marcoule (Gard).
A “nuclear tomb”
However, a recent study commissioned by the government indicates that“it is not identified at this stage of redhibitory elements” possibly…