File footage of the Cigeo nuclear waste disposal site operated by the French National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA) in Bure, eastern France. Construction started on its 500 metre-deep laboratory over 20 years ago and the site is still in an experimental stage. A formal request was made on January 16 for authorisation to officially establish the Cigeo centre for nuclear waste disposal, a new important step for this controversial project, which is not expected to be given the green light for several more years. STOCKSHOTS