1. Legal and regulatory framework for radioactive waste management

1.1 Waste classification

French law defines the notions of "radioactive waste" and "ultimate radioactive waste" as follows:

"Radioactive waste is radioactive material for which no further use is planned or envisaged;

"Ultimate radioactive waste is radioactive waste that can no longer be processed under current technical and economic conditions, in particular by extracting its recoverable part or by reducing its polluting or hazardous nature...". (French Environment Code, article L 542.1-1).

In practice, the different types of radioactive waste are classified on the basis of the level of radioactivity they contain and the decay period of the main radioactive elements. A distinction is thus made between :...