Meuse/Haute Marne Underground Research Laboratory 1.48

The Meuse/Haute Marne Underground Research Laboratory is a laboratory located 500 metres underground in Bure in the Meuse département. It allows study of the geological formation in order to evaluate its capacity for deep geological repository of high-level and long-lived medium-level radioactive waste. It is managed by Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs (Andra).Since radioactive waste needs to be safely stored for extreme lengths of time, the geology of the area is of utmost importance. This site consists of mudstone 500 metres underground in the Paris Basin. It is expected that by 2025, medium-level waste would be stored near Bure.HistoryThe first practical geological studies on locations for deep geological repository in France date back to the 1960s. In the 1980s Andra, at that time a branch of the CEA, was given the task of investigating possible locations for an underground research laboratory.Site selectionTwo geological formations were initially considered in the 1990s: clay and granite. The 1991 law thus dictated that research would be done in several possible sites.In 1994, work by Andra investigated a wide range of locations in 4 separate départements, and further narrowed down the choice to 3 locations.