OPTIMIZATION OF ALPHA CONTAMINATED WASTE TRANSPORTATION IN FRANCE - Presentation

Drums of waste contaminated with plutonium and uranium oxides generated by MELOX plant are transported to AREVA NC La Hague plant by TN International in TN GEMINITM and RD26 packages. Up to 60 118-liter drums can be loaded in the TN GEMINITM packaging, a 20-foot ISO container like packaging. One 118-liter drum can be loaded in the RD26 packaging. Up to 12 RD26 packages are shipped together inside a 20-foot ISO container. The TN GEMINITM packaging was initially designed for medium level waste contamination and the RD26 packaging high level waste contamination. This paper describes the main characteristics of these wastes and of these two packages. So as to optimize the waste transportation while MELOX is increasing its MOX fuel production, TN International has implemented a strategy of sustainable development which is detailed in this paper. This is based on the one hand on the modular design of the TN GEMINITM packaging: • the allowable amount of fissile material per drum and per package has been increased (criticality issue), hence a reduced number of drums and packages, • the allowable heat power of waste per drum and per package has been increased (radiolysis issue), hence a reduced number of drums and packages, • the RD26 payload has been included in the TN GEMINITM package, hence an increased number of drums per shipment from 12 to 20. while warranting the safety of the package. On the other hand, the limitation of fissile materials per shipment due to security issue has also been discussed with the French authorities, in case of waste contaminated with plutonium and uranium oxides. Consequently, the decrease of the number of transports and of the number of packages led to: • economic development with cost optimization for MELOX as consignor, AREVA NC La Hague as consignee and TN International as carrier, • an environmentally friendly logistics plan, with a reduced greenhouse gas generation with decreasing transports for more circulating wastes, • social development with reduced radiation exposure for workers.