The Cigeo Project, France's Industrial Centre for Geological Disposal of radioactive waste

The Cigeo project, led by the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra) consists of the disposal of the most highly radioactive waste, which is also very long-lived, in a deep geological repository at a site straddling the Meuse and Haute-Marne departments in Northeast France, to protect humans and the environment from this hazardous waste over the very long term. The French Parliament adopted the principle of deep geological disposal over ten years ago as the safest solution for this waste. France is not alone in opting for deep geological disposal: this is the favoured option at European and international level too. The Cigeo project is the outcome of more than 25 years of regularly reviewed research, three laws passed in 1991, 2006 and 2016, and two public debates held in 2005 and 2013. It meets the ethical imperative of removing the burden of managing this waste from future generations. After a brief description of the different types of radioactive wastes, this brochure presents: the history of the Cigeo project, the choice of the deep geological disposal concept, the safety at the heart of Cigeo, Cigeo and reversibility, the facilities at Cigeo, how Cigeo will operate, and how Cigeo will be integrated into the local area. Since 2017, Andra has been conducting a new phase of consultation on the Cigeo project aimed at closely involving local stakeholders and inhabitants in building the Cigeo project together