Client: EDF CIDEN
Awarding authority: EDF CIDEN
General contractor: GMES, WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC FRANCE, NUVIA
Decommissioning the reactor vessel at Chooz A
Late 2009, EDF contracted a consortium composed of Westinghouse Electric France and NUVIA (Structure/ Process) to carry out the first decommissioning project on a PWR in France, the CHOOZ A reactor.
Project parties
Project challenges
- Demonstrate the technical feasibility of full PWR decommissioning
- Ensure safety and radiation protection throughout the work
- Compile operating experience feedback for decommissioning project on the CP0 plant series
- Optimise the quantity of primary waste packages produced
- Confirm that the waste management process is manageable
- Organise and industrialise the scenario for decommissioning a PWR
- Limit the quantity of waste generated
Scope
- Dismantling the reactor vessel closure head
- Dismantling the equipment used for reactor operation
- Dismantling the reactor internals
- Lifting and handling operations for the reactor vessel and integrity of the reactor pit
- Removal of reactor vessel insulation lagging
- Segmentation of the reactor vessel
- Design and build of a waste encapsulation cell
- Testing and packing of waste carriers into transport packages
Location
Country: FRANCE
Site: CNPE CHOOZ A