The use of nuclear data in the field of nuclear fuel recycling

¹ AREVA NC La Défense, 1 place Jean Millier, 92084 Paris La Défense, France
² AREVA NC La Hague, 50440 Beaumont-Hague, France

^a e-mail: julie-fiona.martin@areva.com

Published online: 13 September 2017

Abstract

AREVA NC La Hague facility is the first step of the nuclear fuel recycling process implemented in France. The processing of the used fuel is governed by high standards of criticality-safety, and strong expectations on the quality of end-products. From the received used fuel assemblies, the plutonium and the uranium are extracted for further energy production purposes within the years following the reprocessing. Furthermore, the ultimate waste – fission products and minor actinides on the one hand, and hulls and end-pieces on the other hand – is adequately packaged for long term disposal. The used fuel is therefore separated into very different materials, and time scales which come into account may be longer than in some other nuclear fields of activity. Given the variety of the handled nuclear materials, as well as the time scales at stake, the importance given to some radionuclides, and hence to the associated nuclear data, can also be specific to the AREVA NC La Hague plant. A study has thus been led to identify a list of the most important radionuclides for the AREVA NC La Hague plant applications, relying on the running constraints of the facility, and the end-products expectations. The activities at the AREVA NC La Hague plant are presented, and the methodology to extract the most important radionuclides for the reprocessing process is detailed.