Spent fuel from Germany to arrive at the Valognes rail terminal on 16 May

5/14/2001
Press release
The next shipment of spent fuel from Germany is scheduled to arrive at the COGEMA rail terminal at Valognes on Wednesday, 16 May, at about 11 a.m.The fuel elements, which come from the German nuclear power plants at Stade (1 cask, containing 6 fuel elements) and Brunsbüttel (2 casks, each containing 17 fuel elements), will be made up into a single shipment before departing from Wörth, Germany, for France.

After leaving the terminal at Wörth at about 6:30 p.m. on 15 May, the train is to take a route through northern France, passing through the stations of Nancy (11 p.m.), Reims (2 a.m.), Amiens (5 a.m.), Sotteville (7 a.m.) and Caen (9:30 a.m.) at approximately the times indicated.The fuel elements will be temporarily stored in the cooling pools at the La Hague plant.

They will then undergo reprocessing, in which the recyclable materials will be separated out and the wastes conditioned. These vitrified wastes will then be shipped back to Germany for permanent storage.

The arrival of this shipment at the Valognes rail terminal can be viewed live at the Web site cogemalahague.com. Also read "Reprocessing of German spent fuel and return of residues" (pdf).