Tricastin Nuclear Power Center
Encyclopedia
The Tricastin Nuclear Power
Plant is a collection of sites run by Areva
and EDF
located in 4 different communes Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux
and Pierrelatte
in Drôme
, Bollène
and Lapalud
in Vaucluse
, and four departments (Drome (26), Vaucluse (84), Gard (30) and Ardeche (07)) on right bank of the Channel of Donzère-Mondragon (diversion canal of the Rhone River
) between Valence (70 km upstream) and Avignon (65 km downstream).
. It is spread out over 600 hectare
s with over 5000 employees. Some of the involved companies are:
s of 915 MW each, which were built mostly in the 1970s and brought online in the early 80s. These reactors produce about 25 TWh/year, or 6% of France's electricity, but about two thirds of that goes back into the Eurodif
Uranium enrichment factory. The close proximity of the power source and usage of the power allows for smaller transmission losses to occur, which is done at 225 kV.
Spent fuel is transported by train to the reprocessing plant, just as the new fuel is transported to the plant by train.
(Nuclear Safety Authority) confirmed that response to a fire would take a time of 37 minutes.
, the Institute for Nuclear Protection and Safety (now part of the Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety Institute
) called for the risk of flooding at Tricastin to be re-examined due to the presence of the canal.
from 12 to 22 July, the maximum dumping temperature of 27°C into the canal was exceeded on several occasions, totalling about 44 hours.
were accidentally released. Due to cleaning and repair work the containment system for a uranium solution holding tank was not functional when the tank filled. The inflow exceeded the tank's capacity and 30 cubic meters of Uranium solution leaked with 18 cubic metres spilled to the ground. Testing found elevated uranium levels in the nearby rivers Gaffière and Lauzon. The liquid that escaped to the ground contained about 75 kg of unenriched uranium which is toxic as a heavy metal while possessing only slight radioactivity. Estimates for the releases were initially higher, up to 360 kg of natural uranium, but lowered later.
Ground and surface water tests indicated that levels of radioactivity were 5% higher than the maximum rate allowed. In the near vicinity and above ground, the local watchdog group CRIIRAD has detected unusually high levels of radiation.
French authorities banned the use of water from the Gaffière and Lauzon for drinking and watering of crops. Swimming, water sports and fishing were also banned. This incident has been classified as Level 1 on the International Nuclear Event Scale
.
In July 2008, approximately 100 employees were exposed to radioactive particles that escaped from a pipe in a reactor that had been shut down. Additionally, a nuclear waste leak that apparently had remained undiscovered since 2005 spilled into a concrete protective shell in Romans-sur-Isere. Areva
, who owns the site, ensured that the leak had not caused harm to the environment, but the issue sparked discussion about an old French army terrain, where nuclear waste was deposited in shielded dumps. The layer of dirt covering the waste is reported to have been thinned due to wind and rain erosion, directly exposing nuclear waste material to open air. Also, the speed with which the Tricastin incident was reported to the Autorité de sûreté nucléaire
(8 hours) and subsequently to local authorities (another 6 hours) is subject of ongoing discussions. The European Commissioner Andris Piebalgs
may send inspectors to the sites to investigate recent events further.
Other implications following the incidents resulted in a drop in the sale of wines from the Tricastin area. Acting on the wishes of the wine growers to change the name of the appellation to something without "Tricastin", to avoid being associated with the nuclear power plant, in June 2010, INAO
signalled its intention to allow a name change from Coteaux du Tricastin AOC
to Grignan-Les Adhemar effective from the 2010 vintage.
newspaper announced that Suez was considering building a new European Pressurized Reactor
at the Tricastin site, but the claim was denied by the SUEZ group.
Ligurian language (Romance)
. The capital was named Augusta Tricastinorum by Pline and Silius Italicus
.
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
Plant is a collection of sites run by Areva
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
and EDF
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
located in 4 different communes Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux
Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux
Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.-Population:-See also:*Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux Cathedral*Tricastin*Communes of the Drôme department-External links:*...
and Pierrelatte
Pierrelatte
Pierrelatte is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...
in Drôme
Drôme
Drôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...
, Bollène
Bollène
Bollène is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-References:*...
and Lapalud
Lapalud
Lapalud is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-References:*...
in Vaucluse
Vaucluse
The Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...
, and four departments (Drome (26), Vaucluse (84), Gard (30) and Ardeche (07)) on right bank of the Channel of Donzère-Mondragon (diversion canal of the Rhone River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
) between Valence (70 km upstream) and Avignon (65 km downstream).
Sites
Tricastin is one of the most important nuclear technology sites in the world, along with the COGEMA La Hague siteCOGEMA La Hague site
The AREVA NC La Hague site is a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant of AREVA in La Hague on the French Cotentin Peninsula that currently has nearly half of the world's light water reactor spent nuclear fuel reprocessing capacity. It has been in operation since 1976, and has a capacity of about 1700...
. It is spread out over 600 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s with over 5000 employees. Some of the involved companies are:
- Commissariat à l'énergie atomiqueCommissariat à l'Énergie AtomiqueThe Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives or CEA, is a French “public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power, both civilian and military...
(CEA) de Pierrelatte (A Nuclear weaponNuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s research facility) - The EDFEDF- Military :* Elmendorf Air Force Base, a United States Air Force Base in Alaska* Estonian Defence Forces, military of the Republic of Estonia* European Defence Force, an international military force by the European Council- Organizations :...
Nuclear Power Plant Tricastin (3,660 MWe total 915 MWe each) - Comurhex (A Uranium fluorideUranium fluorideUranium fluoride can refer to:* Uranium trifluoride, UF3* Uranium tetrafluoride, UF4* Uranium pentafluoride, UF5* Uranium hexafluoride, UF6* Tetrauranium heptadecafluoride, U4F17* Tetrauranium octadecafluoride, U4F18...
conversion facility). - EurodifEurodifEurodif, which means European Gaseous Diffusion Uranium Enrichment Consortium, is a subsidiary of the French company AREVA which operates a uranium enrichment plant established at the Tricastin Nuclear Power Center in Pierrelatte in Drôme...
(Uranium enrichmentEnriched uraniumEnriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
up to 3.5%)
Nuclear reactors
The site houses 4 Pressurized water reactorPressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
s of 915 MW each, which were built mostly in the 1970s and brought online in the early 80s. These reactors produce about 25 TWh/year, or 6% of France's electricity, but about two thirds of that goes back into the Eurodif
Eurodif
Eurodif, which means European Gaseous Diffusion Uranium Enrichment Consortium, is a subsidiary of the French company AREVA which operates a uranium enrichment plant established at the Tricastin Nuclear Power Center in Pierrelatte in Drôme...
Uranium enrichment factory. The close proximity of the power source and usage of the power allows for smaller transmission losses to occur, which is done at 225 kV.
Spent fuel is transported by train to the reprocessing plant, just as the new fuel is transported to the plant by train.
Fire response
Tests on 2 July 2004 by the Autorité de sûreté nucléaireAutorité de sûreté nucléaire
The Autorité de sûreté nucléaire is an independent French administrative authority set up by law 2006-686 of 13 June 2006 concerning nuclear transparency and safety. Its task, on behalf of the State, is to regulate nuclear safety and radiation protection in order to protect workers, patients, the...
(Nuclear Safety Authority) confirmed that response to a fire would take a time of 37 minutes.
Flood
In its initial report following the 1999 Blayais Nuclear Power Plant flood1999 Blayais Nuclear Power Plant flood
The 1999 Blayais Nuclear Power Plant flood was a flood that took place on the evening of December 27, 1999. It was caused when a combination of the tide and high winds led to the sea walls of the Blayais Nuclear Power Plant in France being overwhelmed...
, the Institute for Nuclear Protection and Safety (now part of the Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety Institute
Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire
The French Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire is a public official establishment with an industrial and commercial aspect created by the AFSSE Act and by the February 22, 2002 decreed n°2002-254...
) called for the risk of flooding at Tricastin to be re-examined due to the presence of the canal.
Cooling water
During the 2003 European heat wave2003 European heat wave
The 2003 European heat wave was the hottest summer on record in Europe since at least 1540. France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in Southern Europe...
from 12 to 22 July, the maximum dumping temperature of 27°C into the canal was exceeded on several occasions, totalling about 44 hours.
Incidents
In July 2008, 18,000 litres (4,755 Gallons) of Uranium solution containing natural uraniumNatural uranium
Natural uranium refers to refined uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature. It contains 0.7 % uranium-235, 99.3 % uranium-238, and a trace of uranium-234 by weight. In terms of the amount of radioactivity, approximately 2.2 % comes from uranium-235, 48.6 % uranium-238, and 49.2 %...
were accidentally released. Due to cleaning and repair work the containment system for a uranium solution holding tank was not functional when the tank filled. The inflow exceeded the tank's capacity and 30 cubic meters of Uranium solution leaked with 18 cubic metres spilled to the ground. Testing found elevated uranium levels in the nearby rivers Gaffière and Lauzon. The liquid that escaped to the ground contained about 75 kg of unenriched uranium which is toxic as a heavy metal while possessing only slight radioactivity. Estimates for the releases were initially higher, up to 360 kg of natural uranium, but lowered later.
Ground and surface water tests indicated that levels of radioactivity were 5% higher than the maximum rate allowed. In the near vicinity and above ground, the local watchdog group CRIIRAD has detected unusually high levels of radiation.
French authorities banned the use of water from the Gaffière and Lauzon for drinking and watering of crops. Swimming, water sports and fishing were also banned. This incident has been classified as Level 1 on the International Nuclear Event Scale
International Nuclear Event Scale
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to enable prompt communication of safety significance information in case of nuclear accidents....
.
In July 2008, approximately 100 employees were exposed to radioactive particles that escaped from a pipe in a reactor that had been shut down. Additionally, a nuclear waste leak that apparently had remained undiscovered since 2005 spilled into a concrete protective shell in Romans-sur-Isere. Areva
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
, who owns the site, ensured that the leak had not caused harm to the environment, but the issue sparked discussion about an old French army terrain, where nuclear waste was deposited in shielded dumps. The layer of dirt covering the waste is reported to have been thinned due to wind and rain erosion, directly exposing nuclear waste material to open air. Also, the speed with which the Tricastin incident was reported to the Autorité de sûreté nucléaire
Autorité de sûreté nucléaire
The Autorité de sûreté nucléaire is an independent French administrative authority set up by law 2006-686 of 13 June 2006 concerning nuclear transparency and safety. Its task, on behalf of the State, is to regulate nuclear safety and radiation protection in order to protect workers, patients, the...
(8 hours) and subsequently to local authorities (another 6 hours) is subject of ongoing discussions. The European Commissioner Andris Piebalgs
Andris Piebalgs
Andris Piebalgs is a Latvian politician and diplomat, currently serving as European Commissioner for Development at the European Commission. Between 2004 and 2010 he served as Commissioner for Energy.-Career:...
may send inspectors to the sites to investigate recent events further.
Other implications following the incidents resulted in a drop in the sale of wines from the Tricastin area. Acting on the wishes of the wine growers to change the name of the appellation to something without "Tricastin", to avoid being associated with the nuclear power plant, in June 2010, INAO
Institut National des Appellations d'Origine
The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine is the French organization charged with regulating French agricultural products with Protected Designations of Origin . Controlled by the French government, it forms part of the Ministry of Agriculture...
signalled its intention to allow a name change from Coteaux du Tricastin AOC
Coteaux du Tricastin AOC
Coteaux du Tricastin AOC is the northernmost wine-growing AOC in the southern area of the Rhône wine region of France. The wines are produced in 21 communes in the department of Drôme on the east bank of the Rhône River in a triangle bounded by Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, Montélimar, and Grignan;...
to Grignan-Les Adhemar effective from the 2010 vintage.
EPR project
On 15 February 2007 the Le SoirLe Soir
Le Soir is a Berliner Format Belgian newspaper. Le Soir was founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel. It is the most popular Francophone newspaper in Belgium, and considered a newspaper of record.-Editorial stance:...
newspaper announced that Suez was considering building a new European Pressurized Reactor
European Pressurized Reactor
The EPR is a third generation pressurized water reactor design. It has been designed and developed mainly by Framatome , Electricité de France in France, and Siemens AG in Germany...
at the Tricastin site, but the claim was denied by the SUEZ group.
Naming
The Tricastin name is a tribute to the CeltCelt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
Ligurian language (Romance)
Ligurian language (Romance)
Ligurian is a Gallo-Romance language spoken in Liguria in Northern Italy, parts of the Mediterranean coastal zone of France, Monaco and in the villages of Carloforte and Calasetta in Sardinia. Genoese , spoken in Genoa, the capital of Liguria, is its most important dialect...
. The capital was named Augusta Tricastinorum by Pline and Silius Italicus
Silius Italicus
Silius Italicus, in full Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus , was a Roman consul, orator, and Latin epic poet of the 1st century CE,...
.