France’s Areva group signed a series of contracts during the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) in Paris. These include a contract to conduct a pre-feasibility study to build a fibre concrete container manufacturing facility for Romania’s nuclear energy and radioactive waste agency (ANDR). Areva said containers built at the site in Saligny near the Cernavoda NPP will allow the safe storage of low and intermediate-level nuclear waste. This surface repository will comprise concrete cells, with containers for cement-conditioned waste, covered by a concrete cap and finally by a multilayer impervious cover. "Such fibre concrete containers are already used by nuclear waste management facility operators in France and the US among other countries," Areva said.
Areva also signed an agreement with the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN) to extend the contract for the used fuel management from Belgium’s BR2 research reactor at Mol to 2030. BR2 is a leading producer of medical radioisotopes and is also used for the safety evaluation of structural materials and fuels for power reactors. When required, the reactor can supply up to 65% of global weekly demand.
In addition, Areva’s nuclear logistics division, Areva TN, signed a contract with Dominion Virginia Power in the US to provide 75 NUHOMS EOS dry shielded canisters to two of the utility’s facilities until 2038. The EOS canisters "have been engineered for ease of plant performance and are designed to securely store used nuclear fuel on site", Areva said. They will be manufactured at Areva TN’s Columbiana facility in North Carolina with the first delivery planned for 2019 to two of Dominion Virginia Power’s NPPs.