Orano reduces its carbon footprint by choosing rail transport for VLL nuclear waste

Orano has announced at the World Nuclear Exhibition that it has recently completed mainly rail shipment of very low-level (VLL) nuclear waste from Orano's Valognes site (Manche, Normandy) to Andra's CIRES site (Aube, north-eastern France). This is the third shipment of this type. Previously, the Group had been using road transport, which is more carbon-intensive. Orano is thus pursuing its decarbonization efforts with the development of rail transport of nuclear materials in Europe.

The change in nuclear transport methods follows Orano's acquisition of STSI, made in 2021 with a view to decarbonizing its activities, and the strategic partnership established the same year with the rail company Fret SNCF.

The mode of transport significantly reduces the carbon footprint compared with road transportation, with a tenfold reduction in CO2 emissions for a shipment of this kind. By way of illustration, on average, transport mainly by rail produces 1.5 tonnes of CO2, compared with 15 tonnes using the road route¹.