CEA Valduc or the Valduc Centre for Nuclear Studies is a French nuclear facility, part of the (DAM) of the
French Atomic Energy Commission
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, or CEA (French: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and secur ...
; dedicated to the study, manufacturing, maintenance and dismantling of
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s.
The site was acquired in 1957 by the CEA and the centre built in 1958. It has an area of 6.7 km
2 (now 7.5 km
2), while the actual site occupies 1.8 km
2. Seventeen basic nuclear installations are on the site, comprising a total of 25,000 m
2 of floor space. The centre is surrounded by a zone where photography and cartography are prohibited but through traffic is permitted on roads.
There are about 1,000 CEA employees working in the centre, as well as about 300 employees from contractors.
Since a restructuring decision of the CEA in 1996, Valduc has been the sole site responsible for military nuclear material. From 1980 to 1993, the
French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...
occupied a 0.4 km
2 plot where it operated a plant for the assembly of nuclear
warhead
A warhead is the section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket (weapon), rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
*E ...
s for air and land-based missiles (''
ASMP'' and ''
Hadès'').
A proportion of the locals consider that Valduc does not bring benefits to the area but imposes constraints and discourages people from coming to the area. This is partly because most employees commute from far away and the centre does not pay local taxes to the local
commune (because it is a public research establishment). However, the commune government asserts that some of the activities at CEA/Valduc are taxable. In 2003, Valduc was considered partially taxable, a move which the CEA contested
CEA, Financial report 2003. The Dijon administrative court considered that activities related to the military were not taxable but those pertaining to general technology development and consulting for private industry were taxable.
See also
*
Pantex
Pantex is the primary United States nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility that aims to maintain the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is named for its location in the Panhandle of ...
External links
Official site(
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
)
Summary on waste reprocessing at VALDUC(
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
)
{{Authority control
French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission
Military installations of France
Nuclear weapons program of France