French radioactive waste authority Andra has entered a consortium with Areva TA to design of a disposal facility with three Lithuanian partners for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste on the model of the CSFMA, a similar French facility located at Soulaines-Dhuys, Aube district. The agency will provide its expertise, notably for the design and safety assessment of the future facility.

The project, funded primarily by the EBRD, includes the design studies for the repository and on-site support during construction. The repository will receive low and medium level operational waste recovered from the dismantling of the Lithuanian power plant.

The future facility will accommodate the waste resulting from the dismantling of Lithuania’s Ignalina nuclear-power plant.

Pursuant to the contract with Lithuania, Andra will be responsible for providing its expertise in order to orient the choices and decisions to be made at every stage of the project: selection of the final site, disposal concept, waste package characterisation, implementation of control measures, long-term safety studies.

Other team members include the Lithuanian Energy Institute (LEI), which brings experience in safety an environmental assessment, and knowledge on national regulations, the company Specialus Montazas-NTP (SM-NTP), which contributes skills in geology, civil engineering, seismic design and mechanical design, and the company Pramprojektas (PP), which brings infrastructure know-how.