Cadarache () in

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

is the largest technological research and development centre for energy in Europe. It includes CEA research activities and

ITER ITER (initially the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ''iter'' meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy through a fusion process s ...

. CEA Cadarache is one of the research centres of the French Commission of Atomic and Alternative Energies (CEA). Established in the north of the department of

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

, close to the village of

Saint-Paul-lès-Durance Saint-Paul-lès-Durance (, literally ''Saint-Paul near Durance''; also spelled Saint-Paul-lez-Durance; Provençal: ''Sant Pau de Durença'') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in Provence, southern France. The Cadarache resea ...

to the west, CEA Cadarache is located about 40 kilometres (24 mi) from

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

, approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, standing near the borders of three other departments: the

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (sometimes abbreviated as AHP; ; ; ), formerly until 1970 known as Basses-Alpes (, ), is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the sou ...

, Var and

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

. It is a major source of employment in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

region and has one of the heaviest concentrations of specialised scientific staff. Cadarache began its research activities when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

launched France's atomic energy programme in 1959. In 2005, Cadarache was selected to be the site of the

International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ITER (initially the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ''iter'' meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy through a fusion process s ...

(ITER), the world's largest

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

reactor. Construction of the ITER complex began in 2007, and it is projected to begin plasma-generating operations in the 2020s. Cadarache also plays host to a number of

research reactors Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or maritim ...

, such as the

Jules Horowitz Reactor The Jules Horowitz Reactor (, ''RJH'') is a materials testing reactor (MTR) cooled and moderated with water. It is under construction at Cadarache in southern France, based on the recommendations of the European Roadmap for Research Infrastructure ...

, which is expected to enter operation around 2030.

Facilities

The Cadarache center is the largest energy research site in Europe, hosting 19 Basic Nuclear Installations (BNI) and a secret BNI, including reactors, waste stockpiling and recycling facilities, bio-technology facilities and solar platforms. It employs over 5,000 people, and approximately 700 students and foreign collaborators carry out research in the facility's laboratories.

, the experimental

tokamak A tokamak (; ) is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field generated by external magnets to confine plasma (physics), plasma in the shape of an axially symmetrical torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement fusi ...

, is currently under construction at Cadarache and is expected to create its first plasma by 2025. When it becomes operational, ITER is hoped to be the first large-scale fusion reactor to produce more energy than is used to initiate its fusion reactions. Other nuclear installations at Cadarache include the Tore Supra tokamak – a predecessor to ITER – and the

, a 100-megawatt research reactor which is planned to begin operation in 2030.

Activities

Numerous nuclear research activities are conducted at Cadarache, including mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) production,

nuclear propulsion Nuclear propulsion includes a wide variety of propulsion methods that use some form of nuclear reaction as their primary power source. Many aircraft carriers and submarines currently use uranium fueled nuclear reactors that can provide propulsio ...

and

fission reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for commercial electricity, marine propulsion, weapons production and research. Fissile nuclei (primarily uranium-235 or plutonium-23 ...

prototyping,

research and research into new forms of fission fuel.

Nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...

is also treated and recycled at the site.

Notable incidents

A number of accidents, of varying severity, have occurred at Cadarache since its inception. Several incidents are listed below. *31 March 1994: A

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

explosion took place while the

Rapsodie Rapsodie was an experimental nuclear reactor built in Cadarache in France. It was France's first fast reactor, and first achieved criticality in 1967. Rapsodie was a sodium-cooled fast neutron loop-type reactor with a thermal output of 40MW and ...

experimental reactor was being dismantled. The explosion was classified as a Class 2 incident by the ASN. *25 September 1998: A sodium fire occurred in a non-nuclear test facility, but caused no significant damage. *2 November 2004: A fire broke out, but caused no

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of Radioactive decay, radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is uni ...

. *6 November 2006: A fault in the equipment used to weigh

MOX Mox or MOX may refer to: People * Jon Moxley (born 1985), American professional wrestler * Mox McQuery (1861–1900), American baseball player Technology * Mac OS X, a computer operating system * Microsoft Open XML, a file format * Mixed ox ...

led to a grinder being loaded with more than the authorized amount of fissile material, presenting the possible threat of a spontaneous nuclear reaction. Initially classified as a low-priority Class-1 level incident, it was subsequently revised to Class 2 by the ASN. *1 October 2008 : A fire broke out in a non-nuclear installation. *6 October 2009: A higher quantity of

plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

than authorized was uncovered in the Plutonium Technology Workshop. The ASN classified the incident as Class 2, and suspended dismantling work on the workshop. After investigation, it was revealed that the cause of the incident was the accumulation between 1966 and 2004 of fine plutonium dust in the 450 glove boxes in the workshop. Following the incident, further inspections revealed that another installation, STAR, also showed quantities of plutonium in excess of the authorized amounts. The incident was classified level 1 by the ASN.

Seismological risk

Cadarache is situated on the

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .seismological fault, and lies close to another fault, Trévaresse. The Aix-Durance fault caused France's worst recorded earthquake in 1909. In a 2000 report, the ASN mandated the closure of six installations at Cadarache that did not meet aseismic construction standards; a similar report was issued by a French nuclear safety organization in 1994. By 2010, three of these had been shut down, with the remaining three to be shut down by 2015.

References

External links

*
Cadarache ITER website
(in French) {{authority control Buildings and structures in Bouches-du-Rhône Fusion power Nuclear technology in France Nuclear history of France Nuclear research institutes Radioactive waste repositories Research institutes in France Military nuclear reactors Tokamaks Nuclear reprocessing sites