Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres (BRGM) is France's Public Institution responsible for mobilising the Earth Sciences in the sustainable management of natural resources and the subsurface domain. It contributes advice and expert assessments to public authorities. BRGM research and development programmes support innovation and work in the following areas: Mineral resources, groundwater, development planning and natural risks, environment and process design (recycling/ valorisation of waste, treatments of contaminated soils and water, of sludges, environmental management, soil protection), environmental monitoring (analytics, geophysics, satellite), mapping and digital information systems. 

BRGM is present in all the Regions of France through its network of Regional Geological Surveys and has been active for many years in more than 40 countries throughout the world. BRGM is acknowledged within France as a leading authority on Water Management and Survey, Soil Protection, Waste Management, Local Point pollution, Environmental Monitoring (on groundwater resources, soil, industrial sites). 

Within the scientific area of FORWAST, BRGM has been involved in research and development activities concerning industrial and urban waste for more than 20 years. Particularly, BRGM keeps and maintains several databases on resources and waste (Mineral resources, quarrying, contaminated sites, landfills, underground water quality). It is redactor of the ECOMINE monthly review (available at www.industrie.gouv.fr ) that gathers general informations of metals economy, sectoral information on base metals, alloys, precious metals, industrial minerals and construction materials, including recycling and mineral waters.

At present, BRGM co-ordinates the European FP6 project HOLIWAST and has been involved as coordinator in FP5 AWAST project, as partner in the European Urban Waste Management Cluster EUWMC particularly to organise the AWARE conference. These activities relate both to commercial services for industries and for local, national or international organisations, and to research projects dealing with industrial processes in association with technical or financial partners. They correspond to a variety of approaches: methodological, technico-economic studies, scientific and technical expertise, industrial machine or plant conception, development, set out and follow up. BRGM brings to public and private partners its experience on the following topics:

	Best available technology, integrated environmental impact assessment and pollution prevention and control,
	Implementation of EC legislation
	Simplified and detailed evaluation of risks due to contaminated sites, “zero-point” of the environment,
	Support in choosing effective treatment and valorisation channels and in global waste management,
	Certification and control of processes and products,
	Characterisation of waste (deposit knowledge),
	Definition of admission criteria to downstream valorisation channels,
	Process development, including the development of separation technique.

No. of employees: 860 of which 78 in the Environment and Process Division and 60 in the Water Division.

Within FORWAST, apart from co-ordinating the whole project and be the responsible organisation for dissemination and valorisation of results, BRGM will participate in WP3 and WP4, “Data mining”.