AREVA : Sixth transport of compacted metallic waste from France to Switzerland
02/08/2012 | 09:41am
Three casks containing compacted metallic waste* are shipped
today from TN International's railway terminal in Valognes
(France) to the ZWILAG storage facility near Wuerenlingen
(Switzerland).
In accordance with commercial contracts signed between Axpo
(operator of Beznau Swiss nuclear powerplant) and AREVA, part
of Beznau's nuclear used fuel has been sent to France for
recycling. Metallic compacted waste is the result of the
nuclear reprocessing process. Its return shipment to
Switzerland is dictated by the French law.
The transport cask used to transport the compacted metallic
waste fully complies with the very strict regulatory criteria
defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Nuclear material transportation is also regulated and
overseen by national and international authority agencies in
order to guarantee a high level of safety and security.
* The used fuel metallic structures received at AREVA La
Hague plant are sheared and compacted to reduce their volume
by a factor 5. These compacted wastes are then placed into
leaktight steel containers.
