Through recycling, up to 96% of the reusable material in spent fuel can be recovered. In its 6th National Report under the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, France states that the national policy of recycling spent fuel has meant that it needs 17% less natural uranium to operate its plants than it would without recycling.
Orano, the French company in charge of nuclear fuel cycle activities that provides the fuel for and manages the waste from the country’s nuclear power plants, has stated that its strategy is to reprocess spent fuel while optimizing the energy yield of nuclear fuel. Reprocessing is carried out at the La Hague reprocessing plant and at Marcoule MOX fuel manufacturing plant.
Since the start of operations in the mid-1960s, the La Hague plant has safely processed over 23 000 tonnes of spent fuel — enough to power France’s nuclear fleet for 14 years.
Used fuel assemblies from various nuclear power plants are transported to La Hague, where they are kept in a storage pool. Components from the spent fuel are then separated and recyclable materials are recovered. At the Melox facility, plutonium is remixed with depleted uranium to produce MOX fuel.
This reprocessing–recycling strategy requires close and regular coordination between the various industrial actors, said John Czerwin, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales Support at Orano. These actors include those who manage reactors, fuel and disposal infrastructures, ensuring the coherence of the integrated industrial system.
“This confirms the benefits of this strategy: first, maintaining limited nuclear waste; second, saving uranium resources by enhancing the reuse of materials; and finally, preparing for the future in order to strengthen France’s energy independence and guarantee the sustainability of nuclear energy,” Czerwin adds.
The French Safety Authority (ASN) regularly assesses the safety impact of this approach.
This article was featured in the June 2019 Bulletin edition on Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors.
