Marcoule
Encyclopedia
Marcoule Nuclear Site is a nuclear plant in the Chusclan
and Codolet
communes, near Bagnols-sur-Cèze
in the Gard
department of France
, which is in the touristic, wine and agricultural Côtes-du-Rhône region. The plant is around 25 km north west of Avignon
, on the banks of the Rhone
.
Operational since 1956, Marcoule is a gigantic site run by the atomic energy organization Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique
(CEA) and Areva NC
and is known as CEA VALRHO Marcoule. The first industrial and military plutonium
experiments took place in Marcoule. Diversification of the site was started in the 1970s with the creation of the Phénix
prototype fast breeder reactor, which was operational until 2009, and is nowadays an important site for decommissioning nuclear facilities activities. The Phénix reactor is likely to be succeeded by the sodium-cooled fast reactor
ASTRID (Advanced Sodium Technical Reactor for Industrial Demonstration) in the 2015-2020 time frame.
Since 1995, the MELOX factory has been producing MOX
from a mix of uranium and plutonium oxides. MOX is used to recycle plutonium from nuclear fuel; this plutonium comes from the COGEMA La Hague site
.
The ATelier Alpha et Laboratoires pour ANalyses, Transuraniens et Etudes de retraitement (ATALANTE) is a CEA laboratory investigating the issues of nuclear reprocessing
of nuclear fuel
and of radioactive waste
.
s, of which have all been shut down. Since then, it has also operated a pressurized water reactor
to produce Tritium
. Cooling for all of the plants comes from the Rhône
river.
level of radioactivity, killing one person, and injuring four. The explosion happened in the Centraco
centre, used by Socodei, a sister company of Électricité de France
. A safety cordon was set up around the plant by fire officers because of the risk of leakage.
The site is spread between the main Marcoule site and the smaller Pierrelatte site. In 2007 over 500 million euros was spent supporting the work of the 30 laboratories.
Chusclan
Chusclan is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.-Population:-External links:*...
and Codolet
Codolet
Codolet is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.-Population:-External links:*...
communes, near Bagnols-sur-Cèze
Bagnols-sur-Cèze
Bagnols-sur-Cèze is a commune in the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon région in southern France.-History:A small regional center, Bagnols-sur-Cèze was quite certainly a Roman town before the main part was built in the 13th century around a central arcaded square that is still preserved...
in the Gard
Gard
Gard is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.The department is named after the River Gard, although the formerly Occitan name of the River Gard, Gardon, has been replacing the traditional French name in recent decades, even among French speakers.- History...
department of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, which is in the touristic, wine and agricultural Côtes-du-Rhône region. The plant is around 25 km north west of Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, on the banks of the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
.
Operational since 1956, Marcoule is a gigantic site run by the atomic energy organization Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique
The Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives or CEA, is a French “public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power, both civilian and military...
(CEA) and Areva NC
Areva NC
Areva NC, formerly Cogema is a French company, created in 1976 from the production division of the French government's CEA It is an industrial group active in all stages of the uranium fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing, and recycling...
and is known as CEA VALRHO Marcoule. The first industrial and military plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
experiments took place in Marcoule. Diversification of the site was started in the 1970s with the creation of the Phénix
Phénix
Phénix was a small-scale prototype fast breeder reactor, located at the Marcoule nuclear site, near Orange, France. It was a pool-type liquid-metal fast breeder reactor cooled with liquid sodium...
prototype fast breeder reactor, which was operational until 2009, and is nowadays an important site for decommissioning nuclear facilities activities. The Phénix reactor is likely to be succeeded by the sodium-cooled fast reactor
Sodium-cooled fast reactor
The sodium-cooled fast reactor or SFR is a Generation IV reactor project to design an advanced fast neutron reactor.It builds on two closely related existing projects, the LMFBR and the Integral Fast Reactor, with the objective of producing a fast-spectrum, sodium-cooled reactor.The reactors are...
ASTRID (Advanced Sodium Technical Reactor for Industrial Demonstration) in the 2015-2020 time frame.
Since 1995, the MELOX factory has been producing MOX
Mox
MOX might be a name or acronym for:*Malaysian Oxygen Berhad - A Malaysian company that is specializes in providing total gas solutions.*Mixed Oxide Fuel, from nuclear reprocessing*An alien race in the TimeSplitters 2 video game, the Mox...
from a mix of uranium and plutonium oxides. MOX is used to recycle plutonium from nuclear fuel; this plutonium comes from the COGEMA La Hague site
COGEMA La Hague site
The AREVA NC La Hague site is a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant of AREVA in La Hague on the French Cotentin Peninsula that currently has nearly half of the world's light water reactor spent nuclear fuel reprocessing capacity. It has been in operation since 1976, and has a capacity of about 1700...
.
The ATelier Alpha et Laboratoires pour ANalyses, Transuraniens et Etudes de retraitement (ATALANTE) is a CEA laboratory investigating the issues of nuclear reprocessing
Nuclear reprocessing
Nuclear reprocessing technology was developed to chemically separate and recover fissionable plutonium from irradiated nuclear fuel. Reprocessing serves multiple purposes, whose relative importance has changed over time. Originally reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing...
of nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available...
and of radioactive waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
.
Reactors
The site housed a number of the first generation French UNGG reactorUNGG reactor
The UNGG is an obsolete design of nuclear power reactor developed by France. It was graphite moderated, cooled by carbon dioxide, and fueled with natural uranium metal....
s, of which have all been shut down. Since then, it has also operated a pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
to produce Tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
. Cooling for all of the plants comes from the Rhône
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
river.
| Unit | Type | Net power | Total power | Construction start | Construction finish | Commercial operation | Shut down |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcoule G1 | UNGG | 2 MW | 1955 | 07.01.1956 | - | 15.10.1968 | |
| Marcoule G2 | UNGG | 39 MW | 43 MW | 01.03.1955 | 22.04.1959 | 22.04.1959 | 02.02.1980 |
| Marcoule G3 | UNGG | 40 MW | 43 MW | 01.03.1956 | 04.04.1960 | 04.04.1960 | 20.06.1984 |
| Phénix Phénix Phénix was a small-scale prototype fast breeder reactor, located at the Marcoule nuclear site, near Orange, France. It was a pool-type liquid-metal fast breeder reactor cooled with liquid sodium... |
fast breeder | 130 MW | 142 MW | 01.03.1968 | - | 14.07.1974 | 01.02.2010 |
2011 explosion
On 12 September 2011, there was an explosion in an oven used to melt metallic waste of a "weak and very weak"Low level waste
Low-Level Waste is a term used to describe nuclear waste that does not fit into the categorical definitions for high-level waste , spent nuclear fuel , transuranic waste , or certain byproduct materials known as 11e wastes, such as uranium mill tailings...
level of radioactivity, killing one person, and injuring four. The explosion happened in the Centraco
Centraco
Centraco , is a factory run by the Society for packaging waste and industrial effluents...
centre, used by Socodei, a sister company of Électricité de France
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
. A safety cordon was set up around the plant by fire officers because of the risk of leakage.
CEA VALRHO Marcoule
The CEA in Marcoule have numerous laboraories and research institutes which carry out research into;- Nuclear reactor waste recycling
- Future nuclear reactor technology (including a fourth generation prototype reactor to be ready by 2030)
- Nuclear decommissioningNuclear decommissioningNuclear decommissioning is the dismantling of a nuclear power plant and decontamination of the site to a state no longer requiring protection from radiation for the general public...
technology
The site is spread between the main Marcoule site and the smaller Pierrelatte site. In 2007 over 500 million euros was spent supporting the work of the 30 laboratories.