Eighth transport of metallic compacted waste to the Netherlands

A railway shipment of metallic compacted waste, the result of the spent fuel treatment at la Hague plant, has left today from AREVA’s railway terminal in Valognes (Manche region, France). The shipping cask, which contains in total 20 containers of metallic compacted waste, is destined for the storage facility run by COVRA, the organisation in charge of radioactive waste in the Netherlands. This is the 8th transport of this kind between France and the Netherlands.

This transport of nuclear material fully complies with national and international applicable regulations in order to guarantee a high level of safety and security. The cask used is compliant with safety criteria defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is designed to ensure people and environment protection in all circumstances.

The return of the Dutch waste is done in compliance within the provisions of French law planning the return of the nuclear waste in their country of origin. It is part of the intergovernmental agreement signed between France and the Netherlands and a contract signed in 1978 for the processing-recycling of 350 tons of use nuclear fuel between AREVA and the Dutch electrician EPZ, which operates the Borssele reactor, in the southwest region of the country.

This contract plans, in particular, the separation of recyclable materials and the waste which result from processing at la Hague plant. This results in 2 types of waste: compacted waste, which are the residues of the metal components of the fuel assemblies used in the power plants (cut and compacted, which reduces their volume by 5 and placed into steel containers), and vitrified waste, which are the non-recyclable materials and concentrate the majority of the radioactivity. With this transport, the containers of metallic compacted waste to be shipped to the Netherlands is now 79% complete. To date, 67% of the Netherlands vitrified waste have been returned.