DESIGN OF THE CENTRE DE L'AUBE LOW-LEVEL WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY

The Centre de I'Aube low-level waste (LLW) disposal facility in Champagne is a new facility currently under construction and expected to be operational in early 1991. When the Centre de I'Aube begins operations, it will replace the existing Centre de la Manche disposal facility in Normandy, where all of France's civilian and defense LLW has been disposed of since it opened in 1969, and which has utilized the earth-mounded concrete bunker disposal concept since 1978. The design of the Centre de I'Aube is based to a large extent on the design of the first disposal facility. Like that facility, the Centre de I'Aube makes use of multiple engineered barriers to isolate the waste from the environment. The design also benefits from ten years of operating experience at the Centre de la Manche, and brings certain improvements into play, particularly with respect to water management and waste handling operations. Several of the LLW compacts in the U.S. have expressed interest in using designs similar to the Centre de I'Aube. This paper will first briefly describe the site selection process that culminated in the choice of the site near Soulaines; the design of the Centre de I'Aube will then be discussed; and the paper will conclude with an overview of the schedule for construction and start-up of the facility.