Francenuc.org
Location of Military Tritium Production to Be Shifted
In its Annual Report for the year 2006, the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) states that it has begun planning for the definitive shutdown of the two Célestin reactors and of the Atelier d'extraction du tritium des cibles (ATM). The Célestin and ATM, located next to each other at Marcoule, have produced tritium for military purposes since the 1960s. Jean-Michel Boucheron wrote in 2001 that the CEA plans to transfer production of military tritium to the Réacteur des essais à terre, now under construction at Cadarache (Rapport sur la loi des finances pour 2002, AN no. 3320, November 14, 2007). The RES, the main task of which will be the development of military propulsion, is expected to go critical in 2010. The CEA aims to begin shutdown operations at the Célestin and ATM at the end of 2010, the Annual Report says.
--posted September 7, 2007