Handling magnesium waste at CEA Marcoule: a new market with high stakes for Onet Technologies

Onet Technologies was recently awarded the task of recovering and packaging waste from pit 0 at CEA/Marcoule, enabling the company to perfect its expertise in the deployment of remotely-operated resources in harsh environments. A fine challenge for its teams.

The mission is a major one: to deploy, from A to Z, the resources required to extract waste from the reprocessing of spent fuel from pit 0 at CEA Marcoule, and to condition this waste with a view to conveying it to a storage facility. This was a comprehensive project, involving many different trades: advanced mechanics/robotics, general installation, command and control, nuclear ventilation, nuclear process control... But it was also a complex project, requiring the deployment of a robotic arm in a "severe" environment (radiological and highly flammable), and assuming the mastery of numerous safety constraints linked to the presence of contaminated magnesian waste.

This is a real challenge for Onet Technologies," emphasize Victorien Seive and Éloi Basalo, project/installation managers for the cycle within the Complex Systems Division (DSC), " both because of the expertise it requires in very different fields, and because of the extremely tight deadlines imposed on us. This is going to require very rigorous coordination on our part, from the studies right through to the works, including the organization and planning of operations."

A "condensed" mission

Jointly awarded to Onet Technologies and CSTI (in charge of the mechanical "transitique" equipment, i.e. waste handling) in mid-March, just before containment, the worksite got underway at the beginning of July. It will take place in three phases: a design and procurement phase, a testing phase, and then the actual construction phase.

The entire contract will have to be completed in 33 months, with a very short design/procurement phase," continues Victorien Seive, in charge of managing the Groupement Momentané d'Entreprises Solidaires (GMES) created for this project with the company CSTI. We have to supply all the equipment, in particular the remotely-operated recovery systems, and support their implementation, as well as fitting out the installations required for extracting and transferring the waste: creation of specific cells with nuclear ventilation, installation of mechanical means (conveyors, overhead travelling cranes, etc.), deployment of regulation and fire-fighting systems, etc. For us, this is a "condensed" mission, for which we will have to anticipate as much as possible to meet the deadlines."

An undeniable "plus" for Onet Technologies' positioning

This project will enable Onet Technologies not only to hone its expertise in its core business (management of the nuclear waste transfer chain), but also to position itself as a prime contractor for highly technical projects.

" The diversity and complexity of both the equipment to be delivered and the skills to be brought to bear on this project (ventilation, nuclear measurement, mechanics, electricity/control, safety, fire, etc.) will enable us to position ourselves as a major nuclear contractor, capable of supplying complete packages adapted to severe environments, while managing safety risks", Victorien Seive and Éloi Basalo anticipate.

It's a challenge in which Onet Technologies teams are of course heavily involved. No fewer than twenty people are working on this project on an ongoing basis, across all trades, with the skills and rigor that such a project requires.

Victorien SEIVE, CMES ONET/CSTI project manager
Éloi BASALO, tender response manager
Project managers / Cycle installation
Direction des Systèmes Complexes (DSC)