Management of waste and radioactive tools
Created in 1990, at the same time as the first surface storage facility managed by ANDRA, Cyclife France (known as Socodei up to April 2019) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the EDF group. Cyclife France designs, builds and operates facilities for the treatment and recovery of industrial waste, as well as equipment and services to support the operational logistics of nuclear activities.
Nuclear waste management is a key challenge for industrial companies. The purpose of waste management is to limit the environmental impact of nuclear activities.
The aim is to store only final waste at specialist facilities managed by France's national radioactive waste agency (ANDRA). "Final" waste is waste that has been subjected to optimised treatment processes, and cannot be further recovered.
From collection at production sites, to transportation of final waste to storage locations, Cyclife France offers its customers a comprehensive service, with the following aims:
- significantly reduce waste volumes,
- recover radioactive materials in compliance with regulations,
- safely and reliably characterise and condition solid, non-dispersible and chemically stable final waste to be sent to ANDRA's surface storage facilities.
In addition, Cyclife France develops innovative technical and industrial solutions to meet the treatment challenges arising from new types of waste and materials generated by producers.
Cyclife France is authorised to treat low-level radioactive waste from foreign producers under nuclear safety conditions that are identical to those applicable to the treatment of French waste. Final waste is returned to the producing country after treatment.
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The CENTRACO site: a unique facility in France
Located at Codolet in the Gard département, the CENTRACO plant is a unique facility in France, dedicated to the treatment of short-lived very low- to intermediate-level radioactive waste.
The CENTRACO site has the status of a Basic Nuclear Installation, which allows it to offer its customers solutions for the treatment and conditioning of waste and materials from nuclear activities (industrial, medical and research).
The site treats low- and very-low-level radioactive waste and materials, with the aim of reducing waste volumes, recycling waste whenever possible, and characterising and conditioning any residues in final packages sent to ANDRA for storage.
To perform these tasks, the CENTRACO site has an incineration unit and a melting unit.
Operation of mobiles machines
Cyclife France also has mobile machines, operated by dedicated teams working directly on-site, providing custom-tailored solutions for the treatment of waste at customers' facilities. This solution is vital in cases where it is easier to move the process than the material.
Our customers
EDF
AREVA
CEA
ANDRA
ILL, Grenoble