French nuclear service giant Orano said Monday that "near industrial scale" tests are under way to verify a vitrification process that could be part of the solution for radioactive sludge and mineral absorbents at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Generating Station in Japan.
"Vitrification proven technology may be part of the solution for waste treatment," at the site that suffered three post-earthquake meltdowns in March 2011, the result of the subsequent tsunami event taking out back up power at the power plant.
Since April, ANADEC, the CEA and Orano have been working on a project to evaluate the compatibility of the in-can vitrification process developed by the CEA and apply it to radioactive waste at the disaster site.
The project is set up in two parts, Orano said. In the first part "durable waste from conditioning matrix formulations and studies, laboratory scale (100 gr), bench scale (1kg) and near-industrial scale (100 kg) tests are led in France at the CEA Marcoule laboratories and technological platrofms," Orano said. Secondly, feasibility studies for process implementation, operation and maintenance principles and waste disposal are underway, led by Orano teams.
The feasibility studies that follow with the a timetable for conclusion "before end March 2019," Orano said.
In this project, which builds on CEA and Orano collaboration that has been underway for more than 40 years, technical and commercial interfaces in Japan are ensured by ANADEC, a joint venture between Orano and ATOX, a Japanese company specialized in nuclear services and maintenance.