Cigéo
Cigéo (an acronym for Centre Industriel de Stockage Géologique, or Industrial Centre for Geological Disposal) is a French project to construct a deep geological repository for radioactive waste. It is designed to store approximately 83000 m3 of high-level waste (HLW) and intermediate-level waste (ILW) produced by French nuclear facilities, including during their decommissioning, and by nuclear reprocessing of spent fuel.
The Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs (Andra) manages the project. After over thirty years of research, including at the Meuse/Haute Marne Underground Research Laboratory, Andra applied in 2023 to the French nuclear safety authority (ASN) for construction authorization. The facility is planned near the border of the Meuse and Haute-Marne departments, within the communes of Ribeaucourt, Bure, Mandres-en-Barrois, and Bonnet, in the drainage basin of the Seine, near the Meuse watershed. The waste will be stored in a layer of clay to ensure long-term containment.
The principle of geological disposal was enshrined in French law in 2006. A 2013 public debate concluded that disposal was not urgent and the project timeline required revision. The law also defines alternatives, such as long-term storage or transmutation of waste into radioisotopes with shorter half-lives.
Estimated costs range from 15 to 36 billion euros, with financing primarily the responsibility of waste producers but partly supported by the state budget. Social acceptability is a key challenge, with one billion euros spent to address public concerns. Two departmental Public Interest Groups (GIPs) support the project: the Haute-Marne GIP, chaired by Nicolas Lacroix, and the Meuse GIP, chaired by Jérôme Dumont, presidents of their respective departmental councils.
Since 1996, Cigéo has faced controversies over funding, the reversibility of disposal, uncertainties about containment over 100000 years, the volume of waste, and the perceived legitimacy of public debates.