This is a symbolic and important step in the process of dismantling the Fessenheim nuclear power plant.
“A little more than two years after the final shutdown of the reactors, our last convoy of spent fuel was received by the teams” from the Orano nuclear fuel recycling site in La Hague, the Alsatian power station announced on Twitter.
An important step in the pre-dismantling of the site has just been completed.
A little over 2 years after the final shutdown of the reactors, our last convoy of spent fuel was received by the @OranolaHague teams pic.twitter.com/1BcRGHApKq
— EDF Fessenheim (@EDFfessenheim) August 29, 2022
The last convoy arrived in The Hague on Friday.
In total, forty convoys were evacuated in thirty months.
"All the fuel that was used to run the units of the plant has definitely left the site," explained Delphine Rorive, communication manager of the plant.
However, the site is still considered nuclear due to the persistent radioactivity on the installations.
Dismantling until 2040
The oldest power station in the country, the Fessenheim power station was closed after many procrastination.
The first reactor was shut down in February 2020 and the second at the end of June 2020. Since then, the pre-dismantling of the facilities has continued with the aim of obtaining the dismantling authorization from the Nuclear Safety Authority in early 2026 ( ASN).
This dismantling should then continue until 2040.
For the time being, around 370 EDF employees and around a hundred service providers are still working on the site of the Fessenheim power plant, which is soon to reopen visits to its facilities to the public.
Illsutration dismantling