E.ON Kernkraft has selected French multinational company Areva to decontaminate the 1,345MW Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant in Germany.

nuclear

Areva will decontaminate the power plant to help reduce the radiation level in the water reactor’s pressure vessel, auxiliary systems, and piping.

As part of this effort, the company will use two techniques including AMDA and CORD UV which involve progressive injection of chemical products into the primary circuit of the reactor.

On completion, the chemical substances will be decomposed into carbon dioxide and water, with no waste product. The process can be applied while the plant is in operation.

Areva said that the process can also be used as a preparatory measure before decommissioning, which can help reduce leftover radioactive waste.

Areva Reactors and Services Business Group’s sales executive vice president Michael Cerruti said: "Areva’s decontamination technology has already been used reliably in over 30 nuclear facilities worldwide, including boiling and pressurized water reactors.

"This new contract confirms customer confidence in our decontamination technology."

Work under the contract is planned to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2016.

The Germany’s oldest nuclear reactor Grafenrheinfeld was decommissioned in 2015 as part of the country’s plan to close all its nuclear power plants by the end of 2022. It is currently a now-offline electricity-generating facility.

Germany has set a target to generate 80% of its total power generation from renewable sources by 2050.


Image: The Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant in Germany. Photo: courtesy of Avda/Wikipedia.