Sixth transport of vitrified residues from France to Switzerland

Press release

January 17, 2005

The sixth transport of vitrified residues from France to Switzerland is scheduled to leave the COGEMA Logistics railway terminal of Valognes (France) in the next hours and reach Würenlingen (Switzerland) on January 19th, 2005.


According to the commercial contracts between the Swiss power companies and COGEMA, part of the nuclear spent fuel is sent to France for reprocessing. Return of the vitrified residues, which result from reprocessing, is stipulated by intergovernmental agreements between France and Switzerland.


The two casks transported, one TN81 model and one CASTOR HAW 20/28 CG model, contain 56 canisters of vitrified residues in total. Upon their arrival in Würenlingen, they will be loaded onto specific road trailers to be transferred to the storage facility of ZWILAG (Switzerland).


The casks used for transport fully comply with the very strict regulation criteria defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (AEIA). Besides, nuclear material transportation meets national and international regulations in order to guarantee a high level of safety.