OREANDA-NEWS. October 16, 2015. AREVA celebrated today at the Tricastin site in France the completion of the “rinsing” phase of the former gaseous diffusion enrichment facility, Eurodif, as part of its dismantling.

This step has significantly reduced the quantity of nuclear and chemical materials present within the facility to ensure the safety of the subsequent operations as part of its deconstruction.

The final extraction of solid uranium hexafluoride from the final group of gaseous diffusion equipment took place on October 5th. This operation has been executed several weeks ahead of the planned schedule and within the initial budget.

The next step will be the completion of the clean-up of the gaseous diffusion equipment in 2016.

Beginning in 2011, the Eurodif enrichment facility has been slowly replaced by the Georges Besse II facility which uses a new uranium enrichment process: centrifugation. Thanks to this technology, Georges Besse II provides the highest levels of competitiveness, energy-savings, technological reliability and reduced environmental impact.

Frederic De Agostini, director of AREVA’s Tricastin site, said: “We have demonstrated our expertise during this key step in preparation phase of the dismantling of Eurodif. These operations have taken place during a complex period for the social transition of Eurodif, during which maintaining the expertise and adapting the workforce to the project workload remain our priorities in terms of safety and security.”