The GB II plant comprises two enrichment units (South and North units) and a support unit, REC II. Enrichment of the uranium resulting from reprocessing, which would require prior authorisation from ASN, is not currently implemented in this plant. In 2022, Orano referred to the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) pursuant to Article L. 121-12 of the Environment Code, about the project to increase the capacity of the GB II plant by around 30%. The CNDP decided to hold a prior consultation because substantial changes to the circumstances which justified the plant’s capacity extension project had occurred since the first public debate which ended in 2004. The Atlas facility – BNI 176 The purpose of the Atlas facility is: ∙ to carry out industrial physico-chemical and radio-chemical analyses; ∙ to monitor liquid and atmospheric discharges and monitor the environment of the Tricastin facilities. The Atlas facility, commissioned in 2017, meets the most recent safety requirements. The Tricastin uranium storage facility – BNI 178 Following the delicensing of part of the Pierrelatte DBNI by decision of the Prime Minister, BNI 178 – or the Tricastin uranium storage facility – was created. This facility groups the uranium storage facilities and the platform’s new emergency management premises. ASN registered this facility in December 2016. The P35 facility – BNI 179 Following on from the delicensing process for the Pierrelatte DBNI by decision of the Prime Minister, BNI 179, known as “P35 ” was created. This facility comprises ten uranium storage buildings. ASN registered this facility in January 2018. The FLEUR facility – BNI 180 Decree 2022-391 of 18 March 2022 authorises the Orano ChimieEnrichissement company to create a storage BNI called “Local Supply of Reprocessed Uranium Storage” (FLEUR acronym in French), intended for the storage of containers of depleted uranium mainly produced by reprocessing of spent fuels. It currently consists of two buildings and could eventually contain up to four buildings. The IARU facility (formerly Socatri) – BNI 138 The facility primarily carries out repair, decontamination and dismantling of industrial or nuclear equipment, radioactive and industrial liquid effluent treatment and reprocessing and conditioning of radioactive waste. 1.2 Fuel fabrication The fabrication of fuel for electricity generating reactors involves the transformation of UF6 into uranium oxide powder. The pellets fabricated from this powder in the Framatome “FBFC” plant in Romans-sur-Isère are placed in zirconium metal cladding to constitute the fuel rods, which are then grouped together to form the fuel assemblies. The fuels used in the experimental reactors are more varied and, for example, some of them use highly-enriched uranium in metal form. These fuels are fabricated in the Framatome plant at Romans-sur-Isère usually called “Cerca”. The FBFC and Cerca plants were combined in a single BNI (63‑U), by a Decree of 23 December 2021. The MOX fuel is fabricated in BNI 151 – Melox – operated by Orano and located on the Marcoule nuclear site, by mixing and pelletisation of uranium oxide and plutonium oxide powders, which are then placed in cladding and assemblies of the same geometry as those produced by FBFC. 1.3 The “fuel cycle” back-end – reprocessing The Orano reprocessing plants in operation at La Hague The La Hague plants, intended for reprocessing of spent fuel assemblies from nuclear reactors, are operated by Orano. The various facilities of the UP3-A (BNI 116) and UP2-800 (BNI 117) plants and of the STE3 (BNI 118) Effluent Treatment Station were commissioned from 1986 (reception and storage of spent fuel assemblies) to 2002 (R4 plutonium reprocessing facility), with most of the process facilities entering service in 1989-1990. The Decrees of 10 January 2003 set the individual reprocessing capacity of each of the two plants at 1,000 tonnes per year (t/year), in terms of the quantities of uranium and plutonium contained in the fuel assemblies before burn-up (in the reactor), and limit the total capacity of the two plants to 1,700 t/year The limits and conditions for water discharges and intake defined in 2015, were updated by two ASN resolutions of 16 June 2022 (resolution 2022 DC-0724 and resolution 2022-DC-0725). The resolutions notably modify the maximum monthly value of the activity concentration of the noble gases, including krypton-85, and regulate the limits and control procedures for the discharge into the sea of eleven chemical substances, detected by the licensee in small quantities in the discharges during a regulations conformity evaluation. Operations carried out in the plants The reprocessing plants comprise several industrial units, each of which performs a specific operation. Consequently there are facilities for the reception and storage of spent fuel assemblies, for their shearing and dissolution, for the chemical separation of fission products, uranium and plutonium, for the purification of uranium and plutonium, for treating the effluents and for conditioning the waste. When the spent fuel assemblies arrive at the plants in their transport casks, they are unloaded either “under water” in the spent fuel pool, or dry in a leaktight shielded cell. The fuel assemblies are then stored in pools for cooling. Tricastin site Philippe Coste plant GB II TU5 and W IARU (formerly Socatri) Tricastin uranium storage areas P35 Atlas Romans-sur-Isère facility FBFC Cerca Malvési site formerly Comurhex Marcoule site Melox La Hague facility UP3 UP2-800 STE3 THE “FUEL CYCLE” FACILITIES IN SERVICE ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2022 323 • 11 • “Nuclear fuel cycle” facilities 11 01 07 08 13 AP 04 10 06 12 14 03 09 05 02
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