Some countries, such as Germany, have implemented a policy for the discharge of VLL waste based on activity thresholds. The German administration has therefore put into practice an option offered by European Council directive Euratom 96/29 of 13 May 1996.

French policy does not provide for unconditional discharge of VLL waste simply on the basis of universal thresholds. This leads to specific management of this waste and disposal of it in a dedicated repository.

Waste management in the BNIs is mainly regulated by the order of 31 December 1999. Any basic nuclear installation must be mapped out, with "zoning" of its buildings in which there is a risk of contaminated, activated or non-radioactive waste being produced. The zones likely to lead to the production of radioactive waste are referred to as "nuclear waste zones". The waste originating from nuclear waste zones has to be managed in dedicated channels. The waste from the other zones is, after checking that there is no radioactivity, routed to conventional waste channels (non-specific or special industrial waste). The ASN has published a guide, revised in September 2002, for the production of BNI waste studies. It is available from the ASN web site.

Recycling of waste from nuclear waste zones is possible. However it would be preferable for such recycling to take place in a channel that is already nuclear, such as the lead recycling from the Marcoule installations to produce biological protections. The reuse of recycled materials in consumer goods and construction products may be authorised by waiver to article R 1333-3 by order of the Minister for Health. Various projects were presented to the nuclear safety authority in 2004 and 2005: recycling of scrap decontaminated by the SOCATRI company and machined by Feursmétal to produce industrial parts, recycling in road-building of the concrete generated by nuclear installation dismantling, recycling of contaminated molybdenum and zircalloy items. The ASN does not at present envisage any waiver to article R. 1333-3 of the Public Health Code and is not favourable to use outside nuclear installations of materials or waste originating from nuclear activities and liable to have been contaminated. The Feursmétal company announced that it intended to give up reusing scrap decontaminated by Socatri in February 2005. Since then, the ASN has suspended investigation of the other dossiers.