'Special Surveillance' To Continue At France's Tricastin Site
Written by NucNet
Friday, 11 July 2008
11 Jul (NucNet): France's Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) is to continue
"special surveillance" of two small rivers - La Gaffière and Le Lauzon
- near the Tricastin nuclear site following an incident earlier this
week when a solution containing 12 grams of natural uranium per litre
entered the rainwater drainage system after overflowing from a tank.
Following an inspection yesterday ASN said plant operator Socatri would continue cleaning up at the site with the excavation of soil and decontamination of the surface. ASN also said it was considering the possibility that regulations had been violated.
Socatri announced in 2005 that it intended to close the area where the tank is located and replace it with a new decontamination and storage plant. ASN has now said that closure must go ahead.
Socatri, which specialises in chemical and radioactive effluent treatment with uranium recovery and related services amongst other activities on the Tricastin nuclear site, said some 30 cubic metres of the solution flowed onto the floor at its plant and into the drainage system overnight on 7 and 8 July 2008. The solution contained a total of about 360 kilograms of natural uranium, but it now appears that only 74 kilograms were released into the environment.
ASN said regional authorities had been involved in environmental monitoring and precautionary measures were put in place. In particular, local authorities banned fishing and swimming in the area, and use of surface water for irrigation. "The results of water sample analyses have shown the environmental impact, notably in the La Gaffière waterway that crosses the site, to be limited and falling," ASN said earlier this week.
The decision on lifting the ban is up to the regional officials, who will take advice from France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), which has also had an inspector at the site. IRSN estimates that the radiological consequences of the incident for the population will be negligible.
The event has been classified as a level 1 incident on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES).
Tricastin is also the site where construction of The Enrichment Technology Company's (ETC) uranium enrichment plant Georges Besse II is under way. ETC is a 50-50 joint venture of the Areva group and Urenco.
Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
Areva And Urenco Venture Prepares Way For New Enrichment Plant (News No. 146, 4 July 2006)
French Enrichment Plant On Course To Start Operations In 2009 (News in Brief No. 18, 20 February 2008)
Safety Inspectors at French Site After Release Of Natural Uranium Solution (News No. 54, 10 July 2008)
