Maritime Back End Transport - First shipment of OPAL Spent Fuel from Autralia to France - Overview of a successful operation

The nuclear material transport of nuclear material from one sidepart of the world to the opposite part always presents some challenges and requires a high level of professionalism andof expertises fromof both Companies, the consignor and the consignee. This contribution will give an overview of the various challenges that have been met for the preparation and performance of a spent fuel transport from ANSTO Facility (Australia) to La Hague Facility (France). Important lessons learnt will be presented for the benefit of organisations involved in similar undertakings.ANSTO is the home of Australia’s nuclear science expertise and the OPAL research reactor. OPAL produces medical and industrial radioisotopes, doped silicon for the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and neutron beams for scientific research. Orano is a world leader in the fields of nuclear material packaging, transportation, and spent fuel reprocessing.ANSTO and Orano have established a responsible plan for the long term management of OPAL spent fuel. The first shipment of OPAL spent fuel was a success and has paved the way for all future shipmentsThis paper provides an overview of the work carried out by ANSTO and Orano to overcome all challenges for the achievement of this significant milestone. Important lessons learnt are presented for the benefit of other organisations involved in similar undertakings.It will especially focus on the maritime transport. After a reminder of the principal characteristics of the shipment to be performed, it will describe the different key components for a successful project.Finally, it will describe how setting up a joint ANSTO and Orano TN dedicated and strong team can be profitable.