ASN Report 2021

Orano decommissioning and waste management strategy The decommissioning of old nuclear facilities is a major challenge for Orano which –over the coming decades– will be required to carry out several large-scale decommissioning projects: the first generation fuel reprocessing plant at La Hague, called UP2-400, with its support facilities (STE2 Effluent Treatment Station and AT1 spent fuels reprocessing Unit, ELAN IIB radioactive sources fabrication unit and HAO “Oxide High Activity” unit), as well as the Tricastin uranium enrichment and conversion units. The Legacy Waste Retrieval and Conditioning operations (referred to as RCD) are among the first steps in decommissioning. These are of particular importance given the inventory of radioactive substances present and the age of the facilities in which they are stored, which do not meet current safety standards. RCD projects are characterised by major safety and radiation protection challenges, as well as by considerable industrial complexity. The general decommissioning of these facilities will also create a large quantity of waste, which will need to be safely managed. Since 2005, ASN has been regularly evaluating Orano’s decommissioning and waste management strategy for the La Hague and Tricastin sites. At ASN’s request and given the complexity of these subjects, their interdependance and the delays observed in DECOMMISSIONING Monitoring of decommissioning of the former Eurodif plant at Tricastin 28 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2021 NOTABLE EVENTS 2021

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