The nuclear dismantlement branch of Orano has received secured a contract valued at millions of euros to fully disassemble the stainless-steel walls and metal structure of two retired spent fuel storage pools at France’s Marcoule nuclear facility.
Dismantlement operations will “commence shortly,” according to a press release from Paris-based Orano. The release does not cite a specific schedule or value for the award from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).
The project will use novel technologies, including a 12-metric-ton remote-cutter that is the most sizable tool of its type commercially available. That both increases efficiency of the operation and reduces radiological exposure for personnel, the release says.
“It makes us proud to see that the technical solution developed by the teams from Orano DS has been selected by the CEA, Alain Vandercruyssen, senior executive vice president for Orano’s Dismantling and Services business, said in prepared comments. “The challenge and the resources involved are considerable but I have full confidence in our ability to complete this unprecedented worksite at Marcoule successfully, thus serving as a reference for other similar operations in the future.”
Established in 1955 in the south of France, Marcoule is the nation’s leading nuclear fuel cycle research facility in areas including spent fuel reprocessing and radioactive waste management. It is also home to a large-scale program for disassembly of nuclear facilities and extraction of radioactive waste. A September 2011 explosion in a waste storage facility at the complex killed one person.
