Meuse/Haute Marne Underground Research Laboratory

Entrance sign

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 the National Agency for the Management of Radioactive Waste or ANDRA (French: Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs).

Since radioactive waste needs to be safely stored for extreme lengths of time, the geology of the area is of utmost importance. Geologically, this site chiefly consists of Kimmeridgian claystone 500 metres underground in the Paris Basin. The exploratory work was for the Cigéo project which would store medium-level waste from 2025 onwards at Bure. These plans have been met with protests.