HAO silo and organised storage of hulls The Oxide High Activity – HAO facility (BNI 80) ensured the first steps of the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing process: reception, storage, then shearing and dissolution. The dissolution solutions produced in BNI 80 were then transferred to the UP2-400 industrial plant in which the subsequent reprocessing operations took place. BNI 80 comprises: • HAO North, spent fuel unloading and storage site; • HAO South, where the shearing and dissolution operations were carried out; • the “filtration” building, which accommodates the filtration system for the HAO South pool; • the HAO silo, in which are stored the hulls and end-pieces (fragments of cladding and fuel end-pieces) in bulk, fines coming primarily from shearing, and resins and technological waste from the operation of the HAO facility between 1976 and 1997; • the Organised Storage of Hulls (SOC), comprising three pools in which the drums containing the hulls and endpieces are stored. In 2023, the licensee continued the operations prior to retrieval of the waste from the HAO silo and implementation of the physical modifications defined on completion of the analysis of hard spots identified during the functional tests of the waste retrieval system. Through resolution CODEP-DRC-2022-028877 of 15 July 2022, the licensee was authorised to partially commission the unit for retrieving and packaging the waste from the HAO silo and the SOC pools in ECE drums. The licensee nevertheless came across technical difficulties during the tests conducted in 2023, particularly the cementation tests with materials to simulate the waste that is to be retrieved. These difficulties led to test adjustments and repeats which caused schedule slippages. tracking of project management in order to meet the associated regulatory deadlines. With regard to the progress of the decommissioning and WRC projects, the work continued in 2023. Orano has also continued to implement the fundamental improvements in the organisation of the decommissioning and WRC projects, which began in 2021, aiming to achieve greater robustness. ASN nevertheless still observes that several decommissioning and legacy WRC projects continue to encounter problems leading to further delays. As far as decommissioning is concerned, Orano must continue the efforts made to address the issues with major implications for the scenario and hence for the associated time frames. With regard to silo 130, which is the furthest advanced project and now in the industrial operation phase, the rate of waste retrieval remains below that planned for in the design. ASN nevertheless considers that the technical measures aiming to enhance equipment reliability and the organisational changes put in place by Orano in 2023 (working three 8-hour shifts instead of two 8-hour shifts, setting up a dedicated maintenance team, etc.) are positive and ASN will judge their impact on the project in 2024. Concerning the project for retrieval and conditioning of the sludge from the STE2 station, ASN notes with approval Orano’s commitment to build new sludge storage silos complying with current safety standards. ASN nevertheless considers that the associated implementation schedule should be optimised. Lastly, ASN notes with approval the measures taken to control the infiltrations in certain buildings and avoid the dissemination of any radioactive materials present in the cells concerned. ABSTRACTS – ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2023 79 Regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection • NORMANDIE •
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