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The solid waste is also packaged on-site, either by
compacting, or by encapsulation in cement. The solid
radioactive waste from the reprocessing of spent fuel
assemblies from French reactors is, depending on its
composition, either sent to the low- and intermediate-
level, short-lived waste repository at Soulaines (see
chapter 16) or stored on the Areva NC site at La Hague,
pending a final disposal solution (in particular the CSD-V
and CSD-C).
In accordance with Article L. 542-2 of the Environment
Code concerning radioactive waste management,
radioactive waste from the reprocessing of spent fuels
of foreign origin is shipped back to its owners. It is
however impossible to physically separate the waste
according to the fuel from which it comes. In order to
guarantee fair distribution of the waste resulting from the
reprocessing of the fuels from its various customers, the
licensee proposed an accounting system to track items
entering and leaving the La Hague plant. This system,
called Exper, was approved by Order of the Minister
responsible for Energy on 2nd October 2008.
The gaseous effluents are given off mainly during fuel
assembly shearing and during the dissolving operation.
These gaseous effluents are processed by scrubbing in a
gas treatment unit. Residual radioactive gases, in particular
krypton and tritium, are checked before being released
into the atmosphere.
The installations at La Hague
Shutdown installations undergoing decommissioning:
• BNI 80:
Oxide High Activity facility (HAO)
-- HAO/North: Facility for underwater unloading and spent
fuel storage
-- HAO/South: Facility for shearing and dissolving of spent
fuel elements
• BNI 33:
UP2-400 facility, first reprocessing unit
-- HA/DE: Facility for separation of uranium and plutonium
from fission products
-- HAPF/SPF (1 to 3): Facility for fission product
concentration and storage
-- MAU: Facility for uranium and plutonium separation,
uranium purification and storage in the form of uranyl
nitrate
-- MAPu: Facility for purification, conversion to oxide and
initial packaging of plutonium oxide
-- LCC: Central product quality control laboratory
-- ACR: Resins packaging facility
• BNI 38:
STE2 facility: collection, treatment of effluents
and storage of precipitation sludge, and AT1 facility,
prototype installation currently being decommissioned
• BNI 47:
ELAN II B facility, CEA research installation
currently being decommissioned
Installations in operation:
• BNI 116:
UP3-A facility
-- T0: Facility for dry unloading of spent fuel elements
-- D and E pools: Pools for storage of spent fuel elements
-- T1: Facility for shearing of fuel elements, dissolving and
clarification of solutions obtained
-- T2: Facility for separation of uranium, plutonium and
fission products, and concentration/storage of fission
product solutions
-- T3/T5: Facilities for purification and storage of uranyl
nitrate
-- T4: Facility for purification, conversion to oxide and
packaging of plutonium
UNDERSTAND
-- T7: Facility for vitrification of fission products
-- BSI: Facility for plutonium oxide storage
-- BC: Plant control room, reagent distribution facility and process
control laboratories
-- ACC: Hull and end-piece compaction facilities
-- AD2: Technological waste packaging facility
-- ADT: Waste transit area
-- EDS: Solid waste storage area
-- D/E EDS: Storage/removal from storage of solid waste
-- ECC: Facilities for storage and recovery of technological waste
and packaged structures
-- E/EV South-East: Vitrified waste storage facility
-- E/EV/LH and E/EV/LH 2: extension of vitrified residues storage
capacity
• BNI 117:
UP2-800 facility
-- NPH: Facility for underwater unloading and storage of spent fuel
elements in pool
-- C pool: Pool for storage of spent fuel elements
-- R1: Fuel elements shearing, dissolving and resulting solutions
clarification facility (including the URP: plutonium re-dissolution
facility)
-- R2: Uranium, plutonium and fission product separation, and
fission product solution concentration facility (including the UCD:
alpha waste centralised processing unit)
-- R4: Facility for purification, conversion to oxide and initial
packaging of plutonium oxide
-- SPF (4, 5, 6): Facilities for storage of fission products
-- BST1: Facility for secondary packaging and storage of plutonium
oxide
-- R7: Facility for vitrification of fission products
-- AML - AMEC: Packaging reception and maintenance facilities
• BNI 118:
STE3 facility: effluent recovery and treatment and
storage of bituminised waste packages
-- D/E EB: storage of alpha waste
-- MDS/b: mineralisation of solvent waste
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CHAPTER 13:
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE INSTALLATIONS
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015