Dilution or containment: controlling radioactive liquid effluents from the 1950s to the 1980s on Marcoule plant, France

Abstract

Nuclear facilities constantly produce radioactive liquid effluents, as a part of their ordinary operation. However, controlling a circulating fluid is problematic. This paper focuses on Marcoule plant in Southern France, on the Rhône River, to document how radioactive effluent containment evolved from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of experimentation: engineers intended to find a way to dilute radioactive wastes into the river, following a traditional conception inherited from the 19th century. However, due to multiple factors (scientific research and a better understanding of radiation effects, raising protests against nuclear wastes, first legislation on radioactive effluents), both guiding concepts and technical solutions evolved to a stricter containment and control of radioactive effluents.