Soaring Costs Threaten Nuclear Waste Storage in France: Updates on the Lorraine Repository
Rising costs of nuclear waste disposal in Lorraine, France
Gearing up for a hefty price tag, France's planned nuclear waste repository in Lorraine may see a staggering increase in costs, as estimates soar from the initial 25 billion euros to a potential 37.5 billion euros, according to recent reports.
The ANDRA (French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency) in Paris revealed a host of cost-rising scenarios, with potential increases of 4 to 50 percent compared to the 2016 estimate. Nestled in the town of Bure, the repository, first proposed in 1991, will delve 500 meters beneath a clay layer to house 83,000 cubic meters of nuclear waste. Approximately half of this has already been produced.
ANDRA's plans include the storage of waste from the six additional nuclear reactors announced by French President Emmanuel Macron, which could increase the highly radioactive waste by 20 percent. A construction permit for the repository, situated about 150 kilometers from Saarbrücken in a sparsely populated region, is slated for the end of 2027. The first containers of nuclear waste are expected to be buried underground before 2050, with an intended lifespan of 150 years.
Nuclear waste from most of French nuclear facilities currently resides in the reprocessing plant in La Hague, where recent projections indicate the storage pond could reach capacity by 2030. With a secondary pond already in the works, the ever-growing need for storage solutions like the repository in Lorraine becomes increasingly apparent.
Protests from environmental activists have long plagued the construction of the repository near the German border, which was initially intended as a research laboratory. It's worth noting that obtaining detailed financial data regarding this project may require consulting official reports or updates from the relevant French nuclear energy or waste management authorities.
Source: ntv.de, raf/AFP
- Nuclear Power
- Nuclear Waste Repository
- Nuclear Waste
- Saarbrücken
- France
- Paris
- The rapidly increasing costs of France's planned nuclear waste repository in Lorraine, initially estimated at 25 billion euros, have been revised to potentially reach 37.5 billion euros, according to reports from ANDRA, a French agency responsible for nuclear waste management.
- The Lorraine repository, located near Saarbrücken and first proposed in 1991, is expected to house 83,000 cubic meters of nuclear waste, with plans to accommodate waste from six additional nuclear reactors announced by French President Emmanuel Macron, potentially increasing the waste by 20%.
- The rising costs of the repository's construction could have significant implications for France's employment policy, as the project involves substantial investment and ongoing management of the waste.
- The repository, set for a construction permit at the end of 2027, falls under the ambit of the broader community policy, as it directly impacts the health-and-wellness, environmental-science, and general-news sectors, especially when considering the potential medical-conditions associated with nuclear waste storage and handling. In addition, the storage of nuclear waste influences the nation's finance and politics due to its substantial economic impact and political ramifications.
