Path Forward to the Revision of the French Doctrine of Waste Management in Post-Accident Situation : New Challenges in the Light of Experience Feedback and Unveiled areas of Development

The French doctrine on management in the post-accident phase of a nuclear accident or a radiological situation has been forged since 2005 by the safety authority's CODIRPA steering committee around four guiding principles: anticipation, justification & optimization (in consistency with the ICRP) and association of relevant stakeholders. A call for an evolution for such a doctrine in the area of decontamination and waste management was identified in 2015 at the national level. In the meantime, the French national public expert in nuclear and radiological risks IRSN has been studying experience feedback from past accidents and existing polluted sites. On the one hand, IRSN has carried out assessments on technical issues arising from national sites where radiological pollution calls for accurate characterization, potential remediation actions and stakeholder involvement. On the other hand, IRSN, partners and counterparts have worked on the territories affected in the Chernobyl area and off the Fukushima Dai-Ichi NPP in order to acquire data and perspective from remediation and waste management issues (2013-2014). Knowledge compiled form the basis of a proposal by IRSN (2015) for the improvement of the French doctrine of post-accident management, with a specific focus on decontamination and waste management, stemming from (i) the ability to quickly react after an accident with the aim of reassuring the neighboring population, (ii) the overarching role of socio-economic factors in the efficiency of remediation activities in regions where a nuclear accident may occur, and (iii) the identification of operational threshold values for such activities as well as endpoints for waste streams, with a specific consideration for huge volumes of waste. On top of that, (iv) issues on characterization of polluted sites (anticipation, strategy, and a specific focus on accuracy of measurements and metrology…) are major areas of development as well, especially for (v) the unveiling of impact estimations as close as possible to the real situation, e.g. in order to limit the consequences of population displacements. IRSN's proposal underlines that definition of post-accident strategies must primarily take into account the involvement of the population to envision a possible return to satisfactory conditions of life; its involvement in the decision making process is seen as a key factor for success of remediation actions. (author)