Performance of preliminary radiological controls in the Tauran canal in Narbonne. Study performed on the request of the TCNA association (Transparence des Canaux de la Narbonnaise). CRIIRAD note nr 17-58

Whereas the water and sediment quality of the Tauran canal in Narbonne is a matter of concern for inhabitants of a Narbonne district (the Malvesi Areva uranium transformation plant releases its liquid effluents in this canal), and whereas, besides authorised releases, several overflows and incidents which occurred on the Areva site resulted in uncontrolled spillages of chemically or radiologically contaminated sludge and liquids, this document reports an analysis of water and sediment quality in the Tauran canal. After a recall of some events (discovery of a pollution, refusals to requests made by citizens for water analysis, implementation of a crowd-funding to finance this study), the report presents the adopted methodology, and then discusses the obtained results: radiation measurements, water analysis (in terms of presence of uranium and other radioactive elements, non radioactive chemical compounds such as ammonium and chlorides, nitrides, nitrates, sulphates, fluorides, and metals), sediment analysis (radioactive elements, non radioactive metals), and aquatic plant analysis (radioactive elements, non radioactive metals). Recommendations and observations are made regarding the limitations of this study. Several appendices describe and report measurement and sampling procedures, gamma spectrometry analyses, water chemical analyses, determination of alpha and beta activity indices, chemical analyses of aquatic plants, and indicate results produced by an other study made by Algade for Areva