RHONE-ALPES Purpose/type: plant for the production of zirconium sponge and other metalsLocation: Jarrie (Isère) Operator: Cezus Chimie (Compagnie européenne de zirconium Chimie) Period of operation: since 1962 (Cezus was created in 1971 and acquired the plant)Raw materials: zircons, minerals extracted from natural sands from AustraliaNominal capacity: 2000 t/yr of zirconium sponge Before 1992 the residues were placed in an industrial dump at Vif (Isère), which between 1977 and July 1992 received 2090 t of waste representing 1 TBq. The deposits of Cezus in this dump were suspended in 1992 after the discovery of uranium and of thorium on the site. Since 1992 the residues have been stored in drums in the plant itself. In 2000, 824 t of wastes were stored at Jarrie--0.19 TBq or 200 Bq/g of uranium and thorium [Andra 00]. The majority of the sponge produced is used for the fabrication of zirconium cladding for nuclear fuel elements [Andra 99; Cezus (nd); LeMo 22.ix.92]. |