The Malvési uranium processing plant, a uranium refinery and conversion facility, is located in the Malvezy industrial area in the city of
Narbonne
Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...
in the south of France. The plant has an average capacity of about 14,000 tU as
uranium tetrafluoride
Uranium tetrafluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula UF4. It is a green solid with an insignificant vapor pressure and low solubility in water. Uranium in its tetravalent ( uranous) state is important in various technological process ...
per year, and is projected to increase its capacity up to 21,000 tU per year. Comurhex, a subsidiary of the French nuclear concern
Orano
Orano SA is a French multinational corporation, multinational nuclear fuel cycle corporation headquartered in Châtillon, Hauts-de-Seine. The company is engaged in uranium mining, conversion-enrichment, Nuclear reprocessing, spent fuel recycling ...
, operates the Malvési Facility.
Gallery
File:Production Malvesi Uranium 1959-2012.png, Uranium ( UF4) production at Malvesi since 1959
File:UF6 world production--Category---.png, UF6 World production in 2015
File:Blocage d'un train de l'usine Areva Malvési par "Stop Uranium" à Narbonne.jpg, Uranium train blockade in Narbonne in April 2017
File:Boues nitratées radioactives B1 B2 Malvési.png, Solid radioactive waste
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
volume produced in Malvesi from 1993 to 2010
File:PAPILLON HD-High 1249 participants.jpg, Demonstration in Narbonne center town against Areva Malvesi thermal organic reduction
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...
(Thor) process in May 2017
See also
*
Tricastin Nuclear Power Plant
The Tricastin Nuclear Power Plant () is a nuclear power plant consisting of 4 pressurized water reactors (PWRs) of CP1 type with 915 MW electrical power output each. The power plant is located in the south of France (Drôme and Vaucluse Depa ...
and its Comurhex Uranium hexafluoride conversion facility
*
Honeywell Uranium Hexafluoride Processing Facility
References
{{Nuclear power in France
Narbonne
Nuclear fuel infrastructure
Uranium
Companies based in Languedoc-Roussillon
Nuclear history of France
Areva