National scientific evaluation commission for research into the management of radioactive waste Instituted by the law 91-1381 from December 30, 1991. Assessment report No. 11 - June 2005

Last year, in its introduction to its annual report, the CNE gave an overall picture of the results from the research carried out in the context of the 1991 law by the CEA which is conducting research for line 1 and 3, and by the Andra, for line 2. This overview has put into perspective the research conducted since 1992 on long-lived and high activity waste management (ILW and HLW). In it, the CNE had assessed, line per line, results obtained at that period as regards the 2006 deadline. This overview also mentioned the need to continue certain research, beyond 2006, in order to complete current experiences and to extend others until their concrete realizations. Finally it mentioned the research areas not covered until now in relation with waste management that depended on law (radiation protection, sociology, economics). In December 2004, the CEA published two synthesis reports listing all the results obtained so far on partitioning, transmutation, conditioning and long-term storage. These reports present all the research conducted by the CEA in collaboration with a wide national and international scientific community. The CNE has assessed this research in details since 1994 in its ten annual reports. In the present report, it can therefore provide a global assessment of all the results achieved so far on lines 1 and 3. The Andra has not yet given the CNE its synthetic report on the research that it has been leading, as well as in the context of large national and international programs, but it provided many preliminary documents. Besides, the CNE remained very vigilant concerning the continuous progress of the knowledge acquired in Bure and the preparation of experiments to come. In the present report, it assesses both recent results obtained in Bure and all the results acquired so far concerning line 2. The overall picture established last year contains most of the CNE assessment. It is used here and completed taking into account new elements brought to the knowledge of the CNE by the scientists in charge of research by law.