Transport of intermediate level vitrified waste to Belgium

This transport complies with the applicable national and international regulations to guarantee a high level of safety and security. The cask used for the shipment is compliant with safety criteria defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency and is designed to protect people and the environment under all circumstances.

The return of the waste to Belgium is made in compliance with the provisions of French law requiring the return of radioactive waste to the country of origin. It is part of the contract for the processing-recycling of used nuclear fuel between Orano and the company SYNATOM, in charge of nuclear fuel management in Belgium. This contract plans, in particular, the separation of recyclable materials and waste which result from processing at Orano la Hague plant.

This is the last shipment of intermediate level vitrified waste between France and Belgium. As a reminder, in the framework of this contract, the return of high level vitrified waste and intermediate level compacted waste was finally completed by the end of 2013.

Orano la Hague recycling activities enables the recovery of 96% of materials contained into used nuclear fuels to reuse them as new fuels to produce electricity again.

The remaining 4%, non-recyclable, are conditioned in a safe and stable form into standardized canisters as final waste. Thanks to reprocessing operations, the nuclear waste volume is reduced by 5 and toxicity by 10.