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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Latest News
No impact from Savannah River radioactive wasps
The news is abuzz with recent news stories about four radioactive wasp nests found at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The site has been undergoing cleanup operations since the 1990s related to the production of plutonium and tritium for defense purposes during the Cold War. Cleanup activities are expected to continue into the 2060s.
Michel Rome, Massimo Salvatores, Jacques Mondot, Michel Le Bars
Nuclear Technology | Volume 94 | Number 1 | April 1991 | Pages 87-98
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT91-A16224
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Spent fuel has been reprocessed in France since the beginning of the French nuclear program. In June 1985, it was decided to recycle plutonium in French pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants. A generic safety report for the Electricité de France 900-MW PWR issued in 1986 demonstrated the feasibility of recycling mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel with a maximum ratio of 30% MOX assemblies in each reload for a total of one-third of the annual core cycle. Between November 1987 and the beginning of 1990, seven MOX reloads were introduced in four reactors. The 2 yr of experience in plutonium reload operations in the French 900-MW PWR is described.
