Graphite Waste Tank Cleanup and Decontamination under the Marcoule UP1 D and D Program - 13166
- AREVA D and D BU, Marcoule (France)
- AREVA D and D BU, La Hague (France)
- CEA/DEN/DAPD/CPUP, Marcoule (France)
- AREVA FEDERAL SERVICES, Columbia, MD (United States)
The UP1 plant in Marcoule reprocessed nearly 20,000 tons of used natural uranium gas cooled reactor fuel coming from the first generation of civil nuclear reactors in France. During more than 40 years, the decladding operations produced thousands of tons of processed waste, mainly magnesium and graphite fragments. In the absence of a French repository for the graphite waste, the graphite sludge content of the storage pits had to be retrieved and transferred into a newer and safer pit. After an extensive R and D program, the equipment and process necessary for retrieval operations were designed, built and tested. The innovative process is mainly based on the use of two pumps (one to capture and the other one to transfer the sludge) working one after the other and a robotic arm mounted on a telescopic mast. A dedicated process was also set up for the removal of the biggest fragments. The retrieval of the most irradiating fragments was a challenge. Today, the first pit is totally empty and its stainless steel walls have been decontaminated using gels. In the second pit, the sludge retrieval and transfer operations have been almost completed. Most of the non-pumpable graphite fragments has been removed and transferred to a new storage pit. After more than 6 years of operations in sludge retrieval, a lot of experience was acquired from which important 'lessons learned' could be shared. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9-332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22224934
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-13-WM-13166; TRN: US14V0376045889
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2013: Waste Management Conference: International collaboration and continuous improvement, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 24-28 Feb 2013; Other Information: Country of input: France
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY
DECLADDING
DECONTAMINATION
FRANCE
GAS COOLED REACTORS
GELS
GRAPHITE
MAGNESIUM
MAST TOKAMAK
NATURAL URANIUM
PUMPS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SLUDGES
SPECTROSCOPY
STAINLESS STEELS
TANKS