UP2 plant : Following the incident of the 24th February, the head-end facility will probably be stopped for the whole of March. Further investigations are being carried out to enable preparation of corrective maintenance. This incident was without any consequence for the personnel or the environment.
A total of 69 metric tons of uranium have been processed to date this year.
At the R7 vitrification facility, lines A, B and C are on standby.
A total of 64 canisters of glass have been produced to date this year.
UP3 plant :
The head-end facility is currently undergoing a scheduled shutdown. Maintenance operations are being carried out in accordance with the scheduled programme.
At the T7 vitrification facility, line B is in service, lines A and C are on standby.
A total of 44 canisters of glass have been produced to date this year.
Work in the Moulinets Cove :
When the plant first started up, the liquid effluents were released into the sea through a pipe which was replaced by the current one between 1980 and 1982. The former pipe was dismantled except for one part which was in the tidal range area (1) .
As previously announced, COGEMA plans to begin dismantling of this section this year.
Preparatory work (2) began in Summer 2000 and was stopped during the winter. This work will be continued during the spring tides in March and April (from the 9th to 13th March and from the 7th to 10th April) weather and sea conditions permitting.
Once this stage has been completed, and following a detailed public announcement, the dismantling work itself will begin this Summer. This is scheduled to continue into 2003.
(1) The tidal range is the difference between high and low tide The maximum being reached during tides with a high coefficient.
(2) This work involves a survey of the pipe s route and determination of the state of the remaining part of the former pipe
3/8/2001