- If approved, the state-owned electric company will build a 37-acre recycling center near the Fessenheim nuclear power plant.
- Metals with low levels of radioactive waste would undergo a purification process in a smelting furnace at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
France is the largest nuclear power producer in Europe, but its aging power plants have forced the country to dismantle older reactors and pursue new, smaller modular reactors. Part of the plan for handling waste from its power plants is to recycle some materials into cutlery.
Reusing materials from nuclear power plants isn’t new. Sweden and Germany already have innovative ways to recycle metals from decommissioned reactors. However, the proposal of the French state-owned company Électricité de France (EDF) is striking. With the closure of France’s oldest nuclear power plant at Fessenheim, EDF proposes using some of the materials to manufacture forks, doorknobs, and saucepans.
Pending public debate and final approval in February 2025, EDF plans to build a 37-acre recycling center near the Fessenheim plant, closed in 2020.
According to Euronews, EDF clarified that it will only convert “very low radioactive” materials into cast iron or steel to make new products. It will send other nuclear waste to processing facilities.
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