{{coord, 47.582160, 4.870442, format=dms, display=title CEA/Valduc or the Valduc Centre for Nuclear Studies is a French nuclear facility ( CEA, direction of military applications) dedicated to the study, manufacturing, maintenance and dismantling of

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s. The site was acquired in 1957 by the CEA and the centre built in 1958. It has an area of 6.7 km² (now 7.5 km²), while the actual site occupies 1.8 km². Seventeen basic nuclear installations are on the site, comprising a total of 25,000 m² of floor space. The centre is surrounded by a zone where photography and cartography are prohibited but through traffic is permitted on roads. There are about 1,000 CEA employees working in the centre, as well as about 300 employees from contractors. It seems that most employees commute from

Is-sur-Tille Is-sur-Tille () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté France. Geography Is-sur-Tille is located about twenty kilometers north of Dijon, on the river Ignon, close to its confluence with the Tille. To the west is ...

and

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

; the CEA charters buses bringing employees from various locations in the Dijon agglomeration. Since a restructuring decision of the CEA in 1996, Valduc has been the sole site responsible for military nuclear material. From 1980 to 1993, the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

occupied a 0.4 km² plot where it operated a plant for the assembly of nuclear

warhead A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: * Explosiv ...

s for air and land-based missiles ('' ASMP'' and ''

Hadès The Hadès system was a short-range ballistic pre-strategic nuclear weapon system designed by France, as a last warning before use of strategic nuclear weapons, in the perspective of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. It was designed from Ju ...

''). A proportion of the locals consider that Valduc does not bring benefits to the area but imposes constraints and discourages people from coming to the area. This is partly because most employees commute from far away and the centre does not pay local taxes to the local commune (because it is a public research establishment). However, the commune government asserts that some of the activities at CEA/Valduc are taxable. In 2003, Valduc was considered partially taxable, a move which the CEA contested
CEA, Financial report 2003
. The Dijon administrative court considered that activities related to the military were not taxable but those pertaining to general technology development and consulting for private industry were taxable.

External links

Official site
(

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

)
Summary on waste reprocessing at VALDUC
(

) Military of France Nuclear weapons program of France

See also

External links