24 hours in La Hague
12th shipment of vitrified nuclear waste from France to Germany (in french)
Environmental protection in La Hague (France)
Compacting structural and technological waste processing active liquid effluents
Eleventh shipment of vitrified nuclear waste from France to Germany (in french)
Clip AREVA in MARCOULE
Vitrification - Technical sheet
La Hague Plant brochure
equivalent of 400 million metric tons of gas saved
Experts in dismantling
Worrying levels of radioactivity?
The human impacts of radioactivity present in the environment can be precisely measured in millisieverts per year. The population around AREVA La Hague present levels of radioactivity of which only 0.8% are due to waste from the plant. In daily life, every individual can tolerate a certain degree of radioactivity without any fear for personal health.
The measurements should account for all forms of exposure to radioactivity (food, breathing external irradiation). The threshold is determined based on the levels of radioactivity measured in different aspects of the environment and products of the food chain (dust in the air, vegetables, milk, marine products, etc.), using the appropriate calculation models.
According to the most recent studies, the impact of the natural and artificial radioactivity for people living in the environment of AREVA La Hague (aside from medical irradiation) is currently around 2.5 millisieverts a year, of which a maximum of 0.02 millisieverts a year are directly due to the liquid and gaseous discharges of the plant in La Hague.
The results of measurements carried out in the environment make it possible to precisely determine the level of impact associated with each origin (natural or artificial radioactivity):
- These measurements make it possible to compare the radioactivity due to discharge from an installation to the naturally occurring radioactivity present in the environment.
- The monthly report of concentrations in different parts of the environment and products of the food chain make it possible to determine the level and development of these impacts over time.
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Information on naturally occurring radioactivity
Humankind constantly lives in an environment interspersed with natural radiation. This radiation originates from the sun and the stars (cosmic rays) but also from radioactive substances present in the earth's crust, in the air, in living creatures and in the human body itself.
The natural environment contains many radioactive elements, both in minerals and in living tissue. The most abundant natural radionuclide in our environment is potassium 40. Its radioactivity is detectable in any sample taken from the natural environment and its concentration remains clearly higher than that released by the AREVA facility in La Hague, in the order of 100 Bq/kg in living species.
Carbon 14 is another abundant naturally occurring radionuclide. Today there are 265 Bq of carbon 14 per kilogram of total carbon in our environment. Its concentration in living tissues is a function of their total carbon content and ranges from 10 and 40 becquerels per kilo.
Potassium 40 and carbon 14 are emitters of beta rays, but there are also alpha emitters in the natural environment. In soil and charcoal, for example, uranium 238 is present at concentrations of 10 to 40 becquerels per kilo. In our food, polonium 210 reaches 50 Bq/kg in crustaceans and 20 Bq/kg in the mollusks of the North Cotentin region.
Radon 222, a natural gas emanating from the ground and from construction materials, can reach concentrations of several hundreds of Becquerels per cubic meter in basements and in some houses.
Human exposure to these natural sources of radiation results in a global average dose per individual of 2.4 milisieverts per year. This total dose varies considerably by region, depending in particular on soil type (radon concentrations), food (potassium and polonium), and altitude (cosmic rays). In France, this dose ranges from 1.5 to 6.0 milisieverts per year.
Future trend for radioactive concentrations in the environment
AREVA is committed to seeing that the annual impact of its facilities does not exceed 0.03 millisieverts. That means that the levels of radioactivity in various parts of the environment and products in the food chain due to waste from the facility will remain extremely limited in the future.
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Monitoring trends in radioactivity
AREVA closely monitors the radiological condition of the environment. Various independent agencies permanently cover land and marine ecosystems and confirm the group's results. In this view, AREVA is committed to limited its radioactive impact to 0.03 millisieverts per year.
Heightened monitoring
The AREVA facility systematizes monitoring of the radiological state of the environment. At the same time, various independent laboratories carry out their own testing and analysis, notably:
- The General Direction of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (DGSNR), under the aegis of the French Ministry of Industry.
- The Analytical Laboratory of the Manche Department (LDA) in Saint-Lô.
- The Radioecological Research Laboratory of the Atlantic Seaboard (LERFA) in Cherbourg-Octeville, which is part of the Institute for Nuclear Safety and Protection (IRSN).
The French government has assembled a group of experts: the Radioecology Group of the North Cotentin peninsula. The Radioecology Group of the North-Cotentin Region cataloged all radioactive sampling and analysis performed on the plant's environment since 1978 by a variety of groups (including plant operators, inspectors, governmental experts and non-governmental organizations).
The catalog confirmed the consistency of all sampling and analysis data, regardless of the laboratory that performed the analyses. This ensemble of measures shows that the radiological state of North Cotentin has been subject to 20 years of close and continuous monitoring. The frequent sampling covers the various marine and land ecosystems.
