HAUTE-NORMANDIE- UPPER NORMANDY

Purpose/type: plant for the production of thorium nitrate

Location: Serquigny (Eure)

Operator: Société des terres rares

Period of operation: 1910-1950 approximately

The Sociéré des Terres Rares produced thorium nitrate from naturally-occurring monazite. Today Elf-Atochem owns the site. This company has constructed industrial buildings over “the former dump for production rejects” from the earlier owner. Work on the foundations of the new buildings exposed the dump in November 1986. The buried dump contains several thousands of m3 of waste, with mass activity from thorium 232 of less than 500 Bq/g. On the surface are 100 m3 (250 t) of waste resulting from the excavation. The radioactivity of the surface waste is 87 GBq. Underground water is analyzed once a year. Studies regarding ways of cleaning up the site were conducted, under the supervision of Opri, in 1998 [Andra 00].

Purpose: production of electricity

Installations: Paluel 1, 2, 3, and 4

Type: pressurized water reactors (class P4)

Location: beside the English Channel between Dieppe and Fécamp (Seine-Maritime)

Operator: Electricité de France

Period of operation: since 1984 (went critical 1984, 1984, 1985, 1986 respectively)

Fuel: low-enriched uranium oxide

Nuclear materials: uranium, plutonium, tritium

Nominal capacity: 5320 MW electric net (each reactor 1330 MW)

Actual production: cumulative total net at the end of 2000, 472.3 TWh (119.3, 116.8, 118.9, 117.3 TWh respectively)

Purpose: production of electricity

Installations: Penly 1 and 2  (and a planned EPR [European Pressurized Water Reactor])

Type: pressurized water reactors (P’4 class and so-called Generation III)

Location: Penly (Seine-Maritime), on the English Channel, 10 km east of Dieppe

Operator: Electricité de France

Period of operation: since 1990 (went critical in 1990 and 1992 respectively)

Fuel: low-enriched uranium oxide

Nuclear materials: uranium, plutonium, tritium

Nominal capacity: 2660 MW electric net (1330 MW per reactor)

Actual production: total net at the end of 2000, 158.7 TWh (86.3 and 72.4 TWh respectively)

The network "Sortir du nucléaire" announced November 26, 2002, that EDF has chosen Penly for the construction of the first European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR).  The network's source, it said, was a confidential EDF report.  However, the network pointed out that the information is presented on the internet site of the local newspaper "Les informations dieppoises" <http://www.infos-dieppoises.fr/Archives2002/3eReacteurPenly.htm> .  The information turned out to be incorrect.  The first EPR in France is being built at Flamanville (Lower Normandy).  

However, the evening of January 29, 2009, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that the second EPR will be built at Penly.  The work will be carried out by a company put together for the project, in which EDF will hold the majority share and its rival, GDF Suez, will play a substantial but minority role. EDF is expected to present a file on the project to the National Commmission on Public Debates within a few weeks of the announcement, with a view to beginning construction in 2012 and putting the reactor online in 2017.

                                                                                                            --updated January 29, 2009

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