CEA/TN International Joint Venture for an International Casks Fleet

CEA has initiated a ten-year programme (2001-2010), the EMBAL plan, to renew its radioactive transport cask fleet. This will allow to comply both with constant changes in transport regulations and the need to respond to current and future demand from scientists in terms of exchanges of materials, which are required by their research programs within the different facilities covered by CEA or in partnership with other organizations. The consequence of this EMBAL plan is that the CEA has a growing park of powerful casks. On the other hand, TN International which designed and manufactured Packaging systems and associated equipments for more than 40 years, is the owner of a large cask fleet, from some gram to more than 130 tons. CEA and TN International wish to implement a partnership in order to optimise their transport activity, and more particularly management of their cask fleet. This paper describes the key aspects of the CEA/TNI partnership: • Build a common park of radioactive material transport casks, made both of casks owned by CEA and TN International. • Ensure joint management of the park of casks, including planning and availability of its casks. • Ensure maintenance of the park of casks. • Use the park of casks industrially. • Pool R&D actions. The stock shared by CEA and TN International will allow CEA to reinforce its position and offer in R&D infrastructure (experimental reactors, hot labs, ¼), by increasing the connecting means between these facilities. For TN International, this partnership will permit to increase the range of type or quantity of transports for the benefit of the final customer. CEA and TN International have the common intent to extend this partnership to other partners, according to conditions defined in this agreement, as soon as possible.