  In compliance with international agreements on nuclear weapons limitation,
the French ground-based nuclear arsenal has been decommissioned in its
totality. One of its former underground missile control centers, located in
Rustrel, 60 km east of Avignon (Provence) has been converted into the
``Laboratoire Souterrain \`a Bas Bruit de Rustrel-Pays d'Apt'' (LSBB). The
deepest experimental hall (500 m of calcite rock overburden) includes a 100
m$^{2}$ area of sturdy flooring suspended by and resting on shock absorbers,
entirely enclosed in a 28 m-long, 8 m-diameter, 1 cm-thick steel Faraday cage.
This results in an unparalleled combination of shielding against cosmic rays,
acoustic, seismic and electromagnetic noise, which can be exploited for rare
event searches using ultra low-temperature and superconducting detectors. The
first characterization measurements in this unique civilian site are reported.
For more info see http://home.cern.ch/collar/RUSTREL/rustrel.html
