Orano - Annual Activity Report 2024 94 3 RISKS, CONTROL AND DUTY OF VIGILANCE PLAN Duty of vigilance plan For example, following the ten-year inventory completed on the Tricastin site in 2021, several recommendations were made on the site, such as: ● the management of green spaces (management of wasteland and grassland, as well as dead wood); ● the planting of native species; ● ecological management of trees; and ● staff awareness-raising, with a competition for the creation of birdhouses and insect hotels by employees. The use of this data made it possible to update the ecosystem monitoring plan for the Tricastin site in 2022. A review of ways to preserve and enhance biodiversity is currently underway and will continue in 2025. These ways include redefining the fishing strategy implemented during the inventory of aquatic fauna and flora carried out in 2023. In 2023, inventories were also carried out to monitor aquatic fauna and flora and air quality (lichens). Biodiversity awareness posters on the site have been produced and put up at the Tricastin site. The Malvési site has carried out projects to protect biodiversity in partnership with the SMDA (Soin modern des arbres) and the PNR (Parc national régional de la narbonnaise), including the introduction of bee biomonitoring of the control basin. Because of their location and land footprint, mining sites are particularly concerned with the protection and conservation of biodiversity, whether during the exploration, operating or “postmining” phases. This is why Orano Mining, an active member of the ICMM, is committed to implementing actions to avoid, reduce impacts, restore and offset, where necessary, on its sites. In this regard, the company also adopted a biodiversity strategy in 2021. For example, as part of the offset project for a forest of saxauls (a species endemic to the region) launched in Mongolia in 20192020, research work has continued, and a nursery was built with the help of specialists and scientists from Mongolian and French public institutes. In 2024, detailed impact studies continued on the Zuuvch Ovoo and Dulaan Uul sites in Mongolia to assess the impacts of the mining project in ISR (In Situ Recovery) and propose mitigation measures and environmental monitoring principles. In Kazakhstan, with regard in particular to the Katco site located in a sensitive area for biodiversity, the specific mitigation measures selected and implemented relate to a reforestation plan for an area of approximately 12,000 hectares. This project is the largest reforestation program of its kind in southern Kazakhstan and involves the planting of saxauls and other tree species. In France, uranium mining was completed in 2001, with the closure of the last site located at Jouac in Haute-Vienne, and the depletion of economically mineable uranium deposits. Orano has launched a major conversion and remediation program for all its former mining sites. In total, more than 35% of these mines have been converted into ecological and/or forested areas with extremely rich biodiversity. Orano has relied on the implementation of a Simple Management Plan (PSG). This tool allows for the planning and scheduling of logging and maintenance work over a ten-year period by defining silvicultural objectives. These are maintenance operations, to prevent the forest from closing in on itself during its growth phase and reasoned logging when possible, to ensure the maintenance of ecosystems. These operations make it possible to promote the integration of the former site into the environment and the surrounding landscape. To date, 763 hectares of plots are managed using a PSG. In 2020, an additional 535 hectares located in Haute-Vienne were added to the forest management program, bringing the total surface area of French forests, for which Orano is responsible, to around 1,300 hectares. For more detailed information on the measures taken at Orano’s various sites, see Section 4.2.3.3 of this report. Eco-performance and circular economy In recent years, Orano has renewed part of its production capacity and now operates unique facilities in their category across many of its sectors. These renewals have also led to improvements in nuclear safety and environmental performance by adopting the best available technologies. The investments in new technologies induced by these objectives and the eco-performance approach initiated in 2004 have helped Orano achieve significant results in terms of reducing its environmental footprint. Since 2004, the group has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 75% and its energy and water footprint by more than 90% (at the ISO scope of its activities). In order to minimize its environmental footprint, Orano continues to implement targeted actions at its facilities to reduce extraction from natural environments and the consumption of materials and energy by constantly seeking ways to recover waste. Thus, for the renovation and commissioning of its new facilities on the front end of the cycle, the best available technologies are adopted, considerably reducing the abstractions, consumption, and emissions from these activities. In 2024, the group continued its efforts to apply its eco-design roadmap. This roadmap takes the form of a dedicated project organization, comprising the deployment of a methodology for assessing environmental issues. An eco-design network, made up of officers in the group’s various Business Units, has also been created with the aim of further anchoring the eco-design culture and capitalizing on feedback. Orano also contributes to the circular economy by recycling used nuclear fuel in its la Hague and Mélox facilities in order to reduce both the volume and radioactivity of the most radioactive waste. Through the processes of extracting and separating recyclable materials (uranium and plutonium) in la Hague, chemicals that are used during the operations are recovered and reused.
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