French waste management group Veolia announced Wednesday that it’s consolidating its nuclear cleanup businesses into a single entity called Nuclear Solutions.
Nuclear Solutions will be made up of Veolia’s Kurion, Alaron, and Asteralis businesses, which offer services in facility restoration, decommissioning, and the treatment of low-and intermediate-level radioactive waste. The entity will focus on site investigation and characterization, the use of advanced robotics, and the separation and stabilization of nuclear waste, according to Veolia.
The company announced the move to “confront the unique environmental challenges faced by this and future generations.” Bill Gallo, former Kurion CEO, will lead the business segment.
“By developing and unifying our activities in the nuclear restoration market under a single name Nuclear Solutions, we are solidifying our position as the pioneer in addressing extremely difficult environmental challenges around the world,” Veolia Director of Global Enterprises Claude Laruelle said in a statement.
Nuclear Solutions operates in the U.S., France, the U.K., Japan, and Canada, and is the only international operator serving the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on behalf of operator TEPCO, according to Veolia. The company also has a collaborative agreement in France with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).
A public meeting to discuss the planned Effluent Management Facility at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant has been rescheduled to 5:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at the Richland, Wash., Public Library.
The previously scheduled meeting Wednesday was canceled because of predictions for heavy snowfall. Hanford workers were sent home in stages to avoid traffic congestion at 1:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. Wednesday. Swing shift was canceled except for workers considered essential.
The Effluent Management Facility is being added to the vitrification plant to enable treatment of Hanford’s radioactive tank waste as soon as 2022 while full operation of the plant is delayed by technical issues. The additional facility, which will treat secondary liquid effluent, requires modification to the Waste Treatment Plant Dangerous Waste Permit, with the initial construction permit modification to be discussed at the rescheduled meeting.
