Second quarter of 2000

---

New WISE-Paris Report Released: "Recycling of Nuclear Materials - Myths and Reality"

WISE-Paris, 2 May 2000

[Posted 02/05/2000]

According to a new WISE-Paris report - "Recycling of Nuclear Materials - Myths and Reality" - less than half of the plutonium and not more than 10% of the uranium separated from French used nuclear fuel at the reprocessing plants in La Hague and Marcoule has been reintroduced into nuclear reactors. The "recyling" rate decreases even further - to less than 20 % and 5 % respectively for plutonium and uranium unloaded from French reactors - if one takes into account that only part of the spent fuel has undergone reprocessing and that the French nuclear industry has accumulated a significant stock of used fuel besides large quantities of plutonium and uranium on the shelves.

The report (in French), authored by Xavier Coeytaux and Mycle Schneider, respectively research associate and director of WISE-Paris, was commissioned and released today by Greenpeace-France.

• Here are the main findings of the study in English
• The full report (in French) can be downloaded as PDF file (last modified 5 May 2000) - (23 p., 266 Ko)

Back to contents