Sixth transport of compacted metallic waste from France to Switzerland

Press release

BACK END / TRANSPORT

February 08, 2012

Three casks containing compacted metallic waste* are shipped today from TN International’s railway terminal in Valognes (France) to the ZWILAG storage facility near Wuerenlingen (Switzerland).

In accordance with commercial contracts signed between Axpo (operator of Beznau Swiss nuclear powerplant) and AREVA, part of Beznau‘s nuclear used fuel has been sent to France for recycling. Metallic compacted waste is the result of the nuclear reprocessing process. Its return shipment to Switzerland is dictated by the French law.

The transport cask used to transport the compacted metallic waste fully complies with the very strict regulatory criteria defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Nuclear material transportation is also regulated and overseen by national and international authority agencies in order to guarantee a high level of safety and security. 

* The used fuel metallic structures received at AREVA La Hague plant are sheared and compacted to reduce their volume by a factor 5. These compacted wastes are then placed into leaktight steel containers.