MAINTENANCE OF LR65 TANKS

The LR65 tank is used to transport uranyl nitrate between AREVAs’ La Hague and Tricastin plants in France. Periodic maintenance is carried out by SOCATRI which is becoming part of the Industrial Services Directorate of AREVA NC Tricastin. Amongst other activities this directorate is a specialist in maintenance, as well as liquid and solid waste treatment. In the past the maintenance of the LR65 tank required a man to work inside the cavity. The operation has a high-risk potential: • The access is via a small man-hole on the top only. • The tank is divided by surge plates into several sections. Again, access is by small manholes only. • Because of the inner contamination, full protection equipment has to be worn by the operator. • Working in a confined environment presents a high safety risk in case of even minor incidents. • A specially trained emergency intervention team needs to be present. In collaboration with a local supplier, AREVA NC Tricastin has developed a tele-commanded robot which is capable of carrying out all of the cleaning and the control operations. The advantages of this new equipment are: • lower dose rates for the operator • work in confined space avoided • no more need for any particular emergency team or equipment • overall higher safety • faster turnaround of tank maintenance requiring less human resources • easily adaptable to other types of tanks