Orano - Annual Activity Report 2025 190 4 SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT Environmental information The national radioactive materials and waste management plan (PNGMDR) was established by the Act of June 28, 2006. It is the French State’s strategic management tool for the management of radioactive materials and waste. Its objectives (defined by Article L. 542-1-2 of the French Environmental Code) are based on two major areas. The plan primarily aims to identify knowledge and work on the management of radioactive materials and waste. With this in mind, the PNGMDR takes stock of both existing management channels for the management of radioactive materials and waste and knowledge of the various radioactive substances. It also identifies foreseeable needs for warehousing or storage facilities. The central objective of the PNGMDR is also to plan for radioactive materials and waste management. Thus, the PNGMDR organizes research intended to coordinate the action of the various players in the management of radioactive materials and waste. It also sets the objectives to be achieved, the main deadlines and the timetables for meeting them. The structure of the 5th edition of the PNGMDR follows the strategic areas of the work to be carried out over the period it covers. It strengthens the progress of previous PNGMDRs on materials and waste, such as: ● radioactive materials and the challenge of their recovery; ● spent fuel interim storage and new capacity requirements; ● solutions for managing very low-level waste (VLLW) for future volumes; ● stabilization of the overall management strategy for long-lived low-level waste (LLW-LL); ● the warehousing, disposal, and storage of high-and mediumlevel long-lived waste (HL-LLW and ML-LLW) in deep geological repositories; and ● continued implementation of management channels adapted to specific categories of waste. In parallel with these in-depth studies, the 5th edition of the PNGMDR includes new challenges such as the strengthening of civil society’s involvement in the governance of radioactive materials and waste management, and the coordination of energy policy with the management of radioactive materials and waste or the consideration of environmental, health, economic, ethical and regional issues. Its content and requirements are numerous and overlapping. They call for the implementation of a significant number of actions for manufacturers, including Orano. In practice, Orano remains a major player in this plan, both for its contributions to governance and monitoring, and for its involvement to achieve the many prescribed deliverables. In 2025, Orano helped complete more than 11 deliverables or reports thanks to a specific internal organization for this purpose. In addition, 2025 saw the start of the public debate on the next PNGMDR, which will apply from 2027. Orano participates at this stage by participating in the various meetings organized by the Special Commission for Public Debate PNGMDR. Recovering radioactive substances In line with the regulatory changes brought about by Decrees Nos. 2022-174 and No. 2022-175 of February 14, 2022, allowing the submission of an application for exemption with a view to obtaining, on a case-by-case basis, an authorization to remove the status of radioactive substance for low-level metal substances after their recovery, Orano is currently involved in the project to recover steel from nuclear operations, mainly steel from the decommissioning of Eurodif’s Georges Besse I uranium enrichment plant at its Tricastin site. These projects are part of a circular economy approach and will reduce the volume of potential metal waste to be stored in order to preserve the storage capacities of existing facilities. In addition, considering that this regulatory change could be extended to other categories of waste, Orano has initiated a project to recover liquid waste. One of the projects consists of building a nitrogen solution production facility at the Malvési site. The nitrogen solution production project aims to provide a low-carbon input for fertilizers, reduce extraction from the natural environment and optimize the site’s environmental footprint. The project is currently in the trial stage and, to be carried out, requires a regulatory change by end-2026. 2025 IN ACTION Recovery of nitrate liquids Orano continued work on its project to produce a nitrogen solution to recover nitrate liquids by implementing an industrial pilot installed at the Malvési site. The pilot process is based on a decontamination operation and a process for concentrating nitrate liquids produced in-line by the plant. The nitrogen solution production project aims to: ● provide a low-carbon input for fertilizers via the nitrogen solution generated; ● reduce water uptake from the natural environment by about a third by providing industrial-grade water for the site; and ● optimize the environmental footprint of the site. Targets related to radioactive waste Orano’s objective is to recover the group’s waste as much as possible, to the extent of its technical and economic capabilities. This involves projects to open up radioactive substance recovery channels, subject to an adapted regulatory framework, in particular for land and liquids, by the end of 2027.
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