Fourth transport of metallic compacted waste from France to Belgium

Press release

BACK END / TRANSPORT

January 11, 2012

Two casks containing compacted metallic waste* has been shipped today from the TN International’s railway terminal in Valognes (France) to the storage facility in Dessel (Belgium).

In accordance with commercial contracts signed between SYNATOM (company in charge of the management of the Belgian nuclear fuel) and AREVA, part of Belgian nuclear used fuel has been sent to France for recycling. Metallic compacted waste is the result of the nuclear reprocessing process. Its return shipment to Belgium is dictated by the French law.

The transport cask used to transport the metallic compacted waste fully complies with the very strict regulatory criteria defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Nuclear material transportation is also regulated and overseen by national and international authority agencies in order to guarantee a high level of safety and security.

* The used fuel metallic structures received at AREVA La Hague plant are cut and compacted to reduce their volume by 5. These compacted wastes are then placed into steel containers.