Glossary
ANDRA (AGENCE NATIONALE POUR LA GESTION DES DÉCHETS RADIOACTIFS)
Public industrial and commercial agency with oversight by the Ministries of Indus-try, Research and the Environment. Andra operates independently of waste genera-tors. Formed in 1991, the agency has three areas of responsibility:
• an industrial mission, by which the Agency provides for the management, operation and monitoring of radioactive waste disposal centers, designs and builds new centers for waste that is not acceptable in existing facilities, and defi nes radioactive waste packaging, acceptance and disposal specifi cations in accordance with nuclear safety rules;
• a research mission, by which Andra par-ticipates in and contributes to research programs pertaining to the long-term management of radioactive waste, in particular in cooperation with the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA); and
• an information mission, in particular through the development of a register of all radioactive waste.
BIOFUEL
Liquid fuel produced by the conversion of vegetable matter produced by agri-culture (beets, wheat, corn, rape seeds, sunfl ower seeds, potatoes, etc.). Biofuels are associated with a source of renewable energy.
BIOTOPE
A biological environment presenting stable habitat conditions to a set of plant and/or animal species.
BLACKOUT
A widespread power outage that occurs after a purely local power outage and affects the whole grid, cutting off electric-ity to an entire region.
CENTRIFUGATION
Enrichment process in which a gaseous mixture of isotopes is spun at very high speed, using the centrifugal force to modify the composition of the mixture.
CO2
Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas pro-duced primarily by burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas, etc.).
CORE
Area in a nuclear fi ssion reactor com-prising the nuclear fuel and arranged to foster the fi ssion chain reaction.
DGSNR (DIRECTION GÉNÉRALE DE LA SÛRETÉ NUCLÉAIRE ET DE LA RADIOPROTECTION)
French government agency reporting to the Ministers of Industry, the Environment and Health. Its specifi c functions are to defi ne and implement policy in the fi elds of nuclear safety (civilian applications) and radiation protection and, in particular, to verify safety-related measures taken, contemplated or implemented by opera-tors in the nuclear sector, and to monitor liquid and gaseous effl uent and waste from licensed nuclear facilities.
DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE (SEE ALSO STORAGE)
Radioactive waste management operation consisting of disposing of packaged waste in a specially designed area that will ensure safety without time limitation.
DOSE
Unit of measure used to characterize human exposure to radiation. The term
“dose” is often erroneously used in place of “dose equivalent.”
• Absorbed dose: amount of energy absorbed by living or inert matter exposed to radiation. It is expressed in grays (Gy).
• Dose equivalent: the same absorbed dose may have different effects on a living organism, depending on the type of radiation involved (X-rays or alpha, beta or gamma radiation). A dose multi-plier, or “quality factor,” is used to take these differences into account in calculat-ing the dose, givcalculat-ing a “dose equivalent.”
• Effective dose: sum of weighted dose equivalents delivered to various tissues and organs by internal and external irradiation. The effective dose unit is the sievert (Sv).
• Lethal dose: fatal dose of nuclear or chemical origin.
• Maximum allowable dose: dose that must not be exceeded for a given period of time.
DOSIMETRY
An assessment or measurement method used to determine the radiation dose absorbed by a substance or an individual.
ECO-DESIGN
Refers to the integration of the environment into the design of goods and services. All products affect the environment at one point or another in their life cycle. The goal of eco-design is to reduce those impacts while preserving, or indeed improving, product utility. In the eco-design process, environmental parameters are added to other design parameters, such as technical feasibility, cost effectiveness, and customer requirements.
ECO-EFFICIENCY
When a company wants to reduce its en-vironmental impacts as well as its costs, it initiates an eco-effi ciency process.
This process involves an analysis of the environmental impacts of its products, processes and services.
ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
Network that delivers electricity locally to end-users: industries, businesses, service providers, residences, etc. Elec-tricity is distributed at medium voltage (12-24,000 V) and gradually reduced to low voltage at the point of end use (230 V in Europe, 110 V in the United States).
ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION NETWORK
Network for electricity transmission from the power plant to the distribution network. It covers large geographical areas. The transmission network includes high voltage and very high voltage power lines, transformers and switchgear equipment.
END-OF-LIFE-CYCLE OBLIGATIONS Term covering all stages following the shutdown of a nuclear or mining facility at the end of its operating life, from fi nal closure to the removal of radioactivity at the site, including physical dismantling and decontamination of all non-reusable facilities and equipment.
ENERGY MARKET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Management software for energy mar-kets that allows power generators and distributors to manage their commercial relations more effectively. The software provides strategic planning; deal con-clusion, risk management and optimum processing; and customer account management.
ENRICHMENT
Process by which uranium’s content of fi ssile isotopes is increased. Natural uranium consists of 0.7 % 235U (fi ssile isotope) and 99.3% 238U (non-fi ssile isotope), as well as very small quantities of 234U. The proportion of 235U is increased to around 3-4% to make it usable in a pressurized water reactor.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS)
An environmental management system is a systematic process for identifying and improving environmental performance that may culminate in certifi cation.
EPR
New generation pressurized water nuclear reactor with approximately 1,600 MWe of power.
FLORENCE FORUM
A consensus building and regulating process in the electricity fi eld initiated by the European Commission in 1998 which guided the establishment of a single market for electricity.
FUEL ASSEMBLY
Bundle of fuel rods fi lled with uranium or MOX pellets. The core of a reactor con-tains from 100 to 200 fuel assemblies, depending on the reactor type.
FUEL CYCLE
The combination of industrial operations involving nuclear fuel. These operations include uranium ore mining and process-ing, uranium conversion and enrichment, fuel fabrication, used fuel treatment, recy-cling of recovered fi ssile materials, and waste management. The fuel cycle is said to be “closed” when it includes used fuel treatment and recycling of fi ssile materi-als recovered by such treatment. The fuel cycle is said to be “open” or “once-through” when fuel is disposed of after it has been used in the reactor.
GASEOUS DIFFUSION
Process for separating molecular species in gaseous form that uses the difference in the velocity of these molecules, due to their different mass and dimensions, and thus the different rates at which they pass through a semi-permeable membrane.
This is how the uranium hexafl uorides
235UF6 and 238UF6 are separated, causing enrichment in 235U for nuclear fuel.
GOVERNANCE
Designates the organization of authority within a company (corporate gover-nance) and seeks the right mix of man-agement bodies, oversight bodies and shareholders. In terms of sustainable development, good governance presup-poses transparency, dialogue with stakeholders, and addressing stake-holder expectations. It means corporate commitment to guiding principles, which give rise to internal charters.
GREENHOUSE GASES
Gases present in the atmosphere that may be produced naturally or by human activity. They create a greenhouse effect, helping to warm the earth and make it livable. But beyond a certain threshold, their build-up in the atmosphere causes global warming, which interferes with the climate. The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), hydrofl uorocar-bons (HFC), sulfur hexafl uoride (SF6) and perfl uorocarbons (PFC).
GRI (GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE) Launched in late 1997 by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), an NGO, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Program, the Global Reporting Initiative is actively supported by member companies, NGOs, accounting organizations, labor associa-tions and other interested parties around the world. The GRI developed and disseminated guidelines that provide a framework and a standard format for reporting quantitatively and qualitatively on corporate performance in the three areas of sustainable development.
HALF-LIFE
The time it takes for half of the atoms contained in a given quantity of radioac-tive substance to disintegrate naturally.
The radioactivity of the substance is thus divided in half. The radioactive half-life varies with the characteristics of each radioelement:
– 110 minutes for argon-41;
– 8 days for iodine-131; and – 4.5 billion years for uranium-238.
IAEA (INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY)
The IAEA is an autonomous organiza-tion affi liated with the United Naorganiza-tions. Its role is to increase the contribution of ci-vilian atomic energy to international peace and prosperity, and to ensure that it is used for peaceful purposes.
Glossary
IEA (INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY)
The IEA is a multilateral organization that coordinates the energy policies of its 27 member nations. It contributes to the security of energy supply, economic growth and environmental protection. It was established in 1974 as an indepen-dent branch of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develop-ment (OECD).
INES (INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR EVENT SCALE)
An international scale used to defi ne the severity of an event occurring in a nu-clear facility.
INTERCONNECTION
Connection between two national pow-er grids or, in some cases, regional power grids, which are generally syn-chronous (50 or 60 Hz). Direct current is needed to connect two asynchronous grids, which is complex and costly to implement.
IPCC (INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE) Multilateral organization established in 1988 by the United Nations Environ-ment Program and the World Meteoro-logical Organization to assess scientifi c data on climate change and report on this subject.
IRSN (INSTITUT DE RADIOPROTECTION ET DE SÛRETÉ NUCLÉAIRE)
Organization responsible for conducting research and assessments in the fi elds of nuclear safety, human safety and environmental protection, and nuclear materials transportation safety. The IRSN provides technical support to the DGSNR.
ISO STANDARDS
International standards. The ISO 9000 standards set organizational and man-agement system requirements to dem-onstrate that a product or service meets customer quality requirements. The ISO 14000 standards set requirements for environmental management organiza-tions and systems designed to prevent pollution and reduce the environmental effects of an activity.
KYOTO PROTOCOL
The Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992 signaled global awareness of the risks of climate change.
In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol set limits for signatory countries and penalties for polluting countries that emit green-house gases.
MOX (MIXED OXIDES)
A blend of uranium and plutonium oxides used to fabricate certain types of nuclear fuel.
A nuclide that undergoes fi ssion in a re-actor, thereby releasing energy. By ex-tension, a product containing fi ssile ma-terial which supplies energy in the reactor core by maintaining the chain reaction.
NUCLEAR SAFETY
(SEE ALSO SAFETY ANALYSIS REPORT)
In the nuclear industry, nuclear safety encompasses all of the measures taken at each stage of the design, construc-tion, operation and fi nal shutdown of a facility to ensure operational safety, pre-vent incidents, and limit their impact.
OECD (ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT)
International organization formed of the leading industrialized nations, including the European Union, whose purpose is to help member governments develop economic and social policies and to encourage and harmonize member country support to developing countries.
PACKAGING
Fuel packaging: special packaging for used fuel to prepare it either for interim storage or for fi nal disposal.
Waste packaging: operation consisting of converting waste into a form suitable for transport and/or storage and/or fi nal disposal.
• Very low-level radioactive waste (vinyl, cleaning rags, etc.) is placed in steel drums.
• Low- and medium-level waste is fi rst compacted to reduce its volume as much as possible, then encapsulated in a special material (concrete, bitumen or resin) to form solid blocks capable of withstanding environmental conditions.
• For high-level waste, a glass matrix is used (vitrifi cation process). The vitri-fi ed waste is placed in stainless steel canisters.
PLUTONIUM
Chemical element with the atomic num-ber 94 and conventional symbol Pu. Plu-tonium -239, a fi ssile isotope, is produced in nuclear reactors from uranium -238.
POWER GRID MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Systems to optimize electricity fl ows, prevent equipment overloads, limit losses and analyze outage risks.
PRIMARY ENERGY – FINAL ENERGY Primary energy consists of commodities such as oil and natural gas, which must be converted before they can be used, as opposed to fi nal energy, which is ready to be consumed. Final energy is a little more than one-third of primary energy.
The difference comes from output loss-es in the energy system.
RADIATION PROTECTION
Term commonly used to designate the branch of nuclear physics concerned with protecting people from ionizing radiation (also referred to as “health physics”). By extension, the term “radiation protection”
covers all of the health measures taken to protect the health of members of the pub-lic and workers from such radiation and to comply with laws and regulations.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Non-reusable by-products of the nucle-ar industry. The four classes of waste are based on radioactivity levels:
• very low-level waste (VLLW);
• low-level waste (LLW) from operations and maintenance, such as gloves, booties, face masks, etc., which make up 90% of the waste sent to licensed disposal facilities;
• medium-level waste (MLW), such as dis-mantled production equipment, measure-ment instrumeasure-mentation, etc. (8%); and
• high-level waste (HLW), mainly fi ssion products that have been separated during used fuel treatment and recy-cling operations (2%).
RADIOACTIVITY
Emission by a chemical element of electromagnetic waves and/or particles caused by a change in the confi gura-tion of its nucleus. The emission can be spontaneous (natural radioactivity of certain unstable atoms) or induced (artifi cial radioactivity).
Radioactivity has several forms:
• emission of alpha particles (combi-nation of 2 protons and 2 neutrons), called “alpha radiation”:
– the particles making up alpha radia-tion are helium 4 nuclei that are highly ionizing but not very penetrating. A single sheet of paper stops them;
• emission of electrons, known as “beta radiation”:
– the particles making up beta radiation are electrons with a negative or positive charge. They can be stopped by a few meters of air or a single sheet of alumi-num foil;
• emission of electromagnetic waves, known as “gamma radiation”:
– electromagnetic radiation similar to light and X rays. Thick, compact materials (concrete, lead) are needed to stop it.
All of these different types of radiation are grouped together under the gen-eral heading of “ionizing radiation.”
The radioactivity of an isolated quantity of an element gradually decreases over time as the unstable nuclei dissipate.
The half-life is the time required for the radioactivity of a radioactive substance to decrease by half.
REACTOR, NUCLEAR REACTOR System in which controlled nuclear reac-tions are conducted, producing heat that is used to make steam to operate a tur-bine, which drives an electric generator.
Different reactor types use different fuel, moderators (to control the reaction) and coolants (to remove heat used to gener-ate power). The pressurized wgener-ater reactor (PWR) currently used by EDF uses slight-ly enriched uranium fuel and pressurized light water as the moderator and coolant.
• Boiling Water Reactor (BWR): nuclear reactor in which boiling pressurized water is used to remove the heat from the reactor.
• Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR):
nuclear reactor moderated and cooled by light water maintained in the liquid state in the core through appropriate pressurization under normal operating conditions.
RENEWABLE ENERGIES
Historically, the fi rst energy sources used by man were renewable. Supplied by the sun, the wind, the earth’s heat and water falls, these energies are, by defi nition, naturally replenished after they have been consumed, and are therefore inexhaustible, at least over very large periods of time.
There are six types of renewable energy:
solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy, biomass and biogas.
SEVESO, SEVESO REGULATIONS European directive aimed at preventing major accidents involving hazardous materials and requiring in particular the development of emergency response/
management plans, public information and urban zoning near high-risk indus-trial sites.
SITES WITH SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS (SEA) In AREVA’s frame of reference, sites with signifi cant environmental aspects include our nuclear sites, sites with fa-cilities representing major man-made risk per Seveso regulations, mining sites, plants with facilities subject to public inquiry, and industrial or service sites whose consumption, releases and pollution carry signifi cant weight in the group’s environmental accounting.
STORAGE
(SEE ALSO DISPOSAL)
Temporary repository for radioactive waste.
STORAGE POOL
Pool in which used fuel is stored after removal from the reactor to allow the as-semblies to lose most of their radioac-tivity through radioactive decay. The water shields personnel from the radia-tion emitted by the used fuel.
SULFUR HEXAFLUORIDE (SF6) Industrial gas classifi ed as a green-house gas with a high global warming potential (22,200 times that of CO2).
Widely used in the metallurgical and electronics industry as insulation for electrical equipment.
TRANSFORMER STATION (SUBSTATION)
Interface between sections of a power network that operate at different volt-ages. In the substation, voltage is trans-formed and electricity supply fl ows are controlled.
Glossary
TREATMENT
Treatment of used fuel to extract fi ssile and fertile materials (uranium and pluto-nium) for recycling purposes and to package the different types of waste into a form suitable for disposal. Fission products and transuranics are vitrifi ed.
UNDP (UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM)
The UNDP is the United Nations’ world-wide development network. Its role is to help developing countries by providing advice and advocating their cause to secure grants.
URANIUM
Chemical element with atomic number 92 and atomic symbol U, which has three natural isotopes: 234U, 235U and
238U. The only naturally occurring fi ssile nuclide is 235U, a quality that is exploited as a source of energy.
URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE (UF6) The uranium contained in nuclear fuel must be enriched in fi ssile 235U. Enrich-ment is achieved by gaseous diffusion or by ultracentrifugation. The uranium is fi rst converted into a gas called uranium hexafl uoride for this purpose.
USED FUEL
Nuclear fuel that has been used in a reactor.
VITRIFICATION
Process used to solidify concentrated solutions of fi ssion products and trans-uranic elements separated during used fuel treatment by mixing them with a glass matrix at high temperature.
VOC (VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND)
Chemical compound, such as gasoline or acetone, that evaporates at ambient temperature. When exposed to sunlight, VOC reacts with other gases in the atmosphere to form ozone and other photo-oxidants.
WBCSD (WORLD BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT)
Established in 1995 at the initiative of the International Chamber of Com-merce, the WBCSD brings together some 180 international companies from 35 countries and more than 20 business sectors. It is the international opinion leader on sustainable development issues.
WNA (WORLD NUCLEAR ASSOCIATION)
World industrial organization whose purpose is to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear power as an energy re-source in tune with sustainable devel-opment imperatives.
ZIRCONIUM
Transition metal, like titanium, discov-ered in 1824 by Berzélius. Zirconium has the atomic number 40 in the periodic table of the elements. It is the alloy base
Transition metal, like titanium, discov-ered in 1824 by Berzélius. Zirconium has the atomic number 40 in the periodic table of the elements. It is the alloy base