Eurodif

Eurodif stands for European Gaseous Diffusion Uranium Enrichment and is a subsidiary of the French nuclear group Areva. Eurodif operates with its subsidiary Socatri a uranium enrichment plant on the site of the French nuclear plant at Tricastin Pierrelatte in the Drôme. The plant at Pierre bar is so large that it consumes the most power (about 75 %) of the nuclear power plant Tricastin.

History

In 1973, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Sweden, the EURODIF as a joint venture. Shareholders were for France, the " Société d' Etudes et de Recherche d' Uranium " with 47.5 %, for Italy " AGIP Nucleare " and " Comitato Nazionale Energia Nucleare by " together with 22.5 % for Sweden " AB Atomenergi " with 10%, for Spain " Empresa Nacional del Uranio SA " with 10 % for Belgium and the " Société Belge pour l' enrichissement de l' Uranium " with 10 %.

Sweden withdrew from the project back in 1974; In 1975, on the Swedish share (10 percent EURODIF ) to Iran as a result of the Franco- Iranian negotiations. They founded the so-called " Sofidif " ( Société franco- iranienne pour l' uranium par diffusion enrichissement de l' gazeuse ). This was a 25% stake in EURODIF and thus enabled the Iran his ten percent stake in EURODIF.

In 1974, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi one billion U.S. dollars ( in 1977 and another 180 million dollars) for the construction of the facility available to, among others, have the right to buy 10% of the later production. After the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran ceased its payments. 1991, an agreement was reached: France reported to the Iran 1.6 billion dollars.

With the construction of the plant was started in 1975, she took her first operation in 1979, reaching in 1980 its full capacity of 10,800 tons of uranium separative work per year.

The plant is named after the first chairman of Eurodif 1974-1976 Georges Besse and supplied 40 power producers in the world with enriched uranium.

It is cooled by the two cooling towers at the site and provides district heating to 2400 homes in Pierre bar and 42 ha of greenhouses and the local crocodile breeding farm for leather production.

The enrichment process was converted from the gaseous diffusion process to the much more energy -efficient gas centrifuge process. The old enrichment plant required the performance of three nuclear reactors (about 3 GW ), the new method requires only 50 MW for the same amount of enriched uranium.

The new facility " Georges Besse II " took on 9 December 2009 on its operation and be completed by 2016, the full capacity of 7.5 million separative work units per year reach, while the old Eurodif plant should be completely dismantled by 2020. In June 2008, AREVA announced that Suez assumes a 5 % stake in the new facility.

Founded in 1974, AREVA subsidiary Socatri cares about the planned demolition of the old facility, the maintenance and cleaning of waste water.

Incident

Early July 2008, entered into the system from a larger amount of a solution with non- enriched uranium and arrived in the area. The incident was announced on 8 July 2008. The radioactive solution seeped into the ground and passed through the sewage system in the smaller rivers Gaffière and Lauzon, the Rhône, and possibly into groundwater. There the removal of water and the consumption of fish from the relevant flow components for private individuals and farmers was banned.

Chronology:

About the amount of beaten pollutants vary the details between 6.25 cubic meter solution with about 75 kg non -enriched uranium ( operator data) and 30 cubic solution with about 360 kilograms of uranium (ASN ). One study of the organization CRIIRAD According to independent legal limits for the annual radiation emissions into the environment to be more than exceeded 100 times in the incident.

In the event of a fault it should have come in a plant for the treatment of uranium solutions to a boiler overflow. The time stipulated for such incidents retention basin was leaking due to works. On 14 October 2010 Socatri was sentenced by the court in Carpentras to a fine of 40,000 euros for failing to alert the nuclear safety authority Autorité de sûreté nucléaire and the department of Vaucluse. From the allegations of water pollution, the company was acquitted, as there is no drinking water limits in France with regard to Radioactive Substances. End of September 2011 overturned the Court of Appeal in Nimes the verdict, and sentenced Socatri for drinking water contamination to a fine of 300,000 euros and compensation of 20,000 euros for the occurring as a civil organizations, including Greenpeace, Sortir du Nucléaire, Amis de la Terre France nature. A dozen plaintive residents were awarded 10,000 euros in damages.

Swell

• Tagesschau.de: http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/frankreich106.html ( The original page is no longer available. ) Template: Dead link / www.tagesschau.de → Explanation ( 9 July 2008)
• Spiegel.de: anti-nuclear activists warn of dangers of the released uranium ( 9 July 2008)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung: Uranium accident in France - Researchers warn of radiation exposure accessed on 9 July 2008
• Commission de Recherche et d'Information sur la Indépendantes Radioactivité: Site Nucléaire du Tricastin ( Drôme): fuite radioactive à la Socatri 9 July 2008
• NTV About the leaked uranium solution