4. Engineering specificity

The specificity of reprocessing plants stems from the constraints imposed by the use of highly radioactive materials, some of which are also fissile and sensitive from the point of view of nuclear weapons proliferation: an 800 t/year plant like UP3, for example, has to process nearly 1 billion curies (37 exabecquerels) of beta-gamma emitters and around 8 t of plutonium every year.

Draconian precautions, involving the implementation of quality assurance programs (taking particular account of the ministerial order relating to the quality of the design, construction and operation of basic nuclear installations of 10/08/1984 published in the Journal Officiel of 22/09/1984), must therefore be taken at every stage to guarantee production in accordance with specifications throughout the plant's lifetime without exposing workers and without risk to the environment...