The first of a three-reactor plant, Chooz A, a pressurized water reactor (PWR) was shut down in 1991 after an operational life of 24 years. Chooz units B1 and B2 remain operational.
The project is expected to take six and one half years to complete. Westinghouse will be the lead in a consortium with Nuvia France and will provide resources from its Vasteras, Sweden; Nivelles, Belgium; and Orsay, France locations.
Westinghouse’s scope includes overall project management, RV and RV internals segmentation, reactor nozzle cutting, dismantling of the RV thermal insulation, performing ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) forecast to ensure acceptable personnel dose, and providing a complementary water filtration system to maintain water clarity during the segmentation work.
Westinghouse will dismantle the RV and RV internals using mechanical cutting technology.
Yves Brachet, regional vice president of Westinghouse, France, said: ”EDF, the largest nuclear utility in the world, has been at the forefront of gaining public support for the nuclear renaissance. With this important project, EDF and Westinghouse will be teaming to further enhance that support by demonstrating that the safe dismantling of a reactor is possible.”
