French nuclear solutions provider Areva and Sogin, which manages Italy's nuclear facilities, have signed a contract worth over E250 million to reprocess 235 tons of used nuclear fuel.
In a press release, Areva said that the contract follows the intergovernmental agreement signed between France and Italy on November 24, 2006. The contract covers the transport, reprocessing and packaging of used fuel from the Caorso, Trino and Garigliano facilities, which will involve 190, 32 and 13 tons of nuclear waste, respectively.
Areva said that the first fuel transport operations from Italy to the company’s plant in The Hague will take place in 2007 and that, once the reprocessing operations have been completed, the vitrified waste will be returned to Italy by December 31, 2025 at the latest.
Massimo Romano, deputy administrator of Sogin, said: By signing this contract and choosing to reprocess its used fuel, Italy joins the rank of other countries with a strong commitment to nuclear energy production and makes its program to dismantle its nuclear facilities safer and more relevant.
Sogin is owned by the Italian ministry for economy and finance. The company manages the radioactive waste and used fuel from the nuclear facilities that were shut down following the 1987 referendum, and is involved in their clean-up, dismantling and requalification.