http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/09/12/france-nuclear-plant-explosion.html
An explosion at the Marcoule nuclear waste-management site in southeastern France on Monday has killed at least one man, but the country's nuclear safety body says there was no leak of radioactive material.
Four people were also injured in the explosion, according to reports.
The Agency for Nuclear Safety (ANS) said the explosion was caused by a fire near a furnace in the Centraco radioactive waste storage site.
The Marcoule site does not house any nuclear power reactors. It is involved with the decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and operates a pressurized water reactor used to produce tritium.
What is at the site
The Marcoule nuclear site produces a fuel called MOX made from weapons-grade plutonium. The fuel can then be used in commercial nuclear reactors.
Two reprocessing sites in France, La Hague and Marcoule “contain over 90 per cent of France’s radioactive waste inventory. Their inventories include spent fuel, separated plutonium, large quantities of liquid and vitrified high-level waste, and various types of intermediate, transuranic and low-level radioactive wastes,” according to the International Panel of Fissile Materials.
The fuel is controversial, and a number of environmental groups have lined up against its use, saying the plants that process the highly radioactive material are dangerous places.
The site is located in the Gard region of France, in Langedoc Roussillon, near the Mediterranean Sea.
Midi Libre, a local paper in Montpellier, near the site, says the explosion occurred at 11:45 a.m. local time.
It says one person was seriously injured and has been airlifted to a hospital in Montpellier. Three others were taken to a local hospital.
No evacuation notice was given to the local area but a security perimeter around the site has been established, according to reports.
Marcoule opened in 1950s
Marcoule is owned by French power utility EDF and is adjacent to a nuclear research centre.
The furnace that exploded is used to melt waste with levels of radioactivity ranging from low to very high, according to ASN.
The reason for the blast wasn't immediately clear, but officials said it was contained within the furnace area.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has contacted French authorities to learn more about how the explosion may have happened.
Marcoule, opened in the 1950s, is one of the oldest nuclear sites in France, which relies on nuclear energy for more than two-thirds of its energy needs.
France's 58 nuclear reactors have been put through stress tests since the March disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant linked to an earthquake and tsunami.
An explosion at the Marcoule nuclear waste-management site in southeastern France on Monday has killed at least one man, but the country's nuclear safety body says there was no leak of radioactive material.
Four people were also injured in the explosion, according to reports.
The Agency for Nuclear Safety (ANS) said the explosion was caused by a fire near a furnace in the Centraco radioactive waste storage site.
The Marcoule site does not house any nuclear power reactors. It is involved with the decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and operates a pressurized water reactor used to produce tritium.
What is at the site
The Marcoule nuclear site produces a fuel called MOX made from weapons-grade plutonium. The fuel can then be used in commercial nuclear reactors.
Two reprocessing sites in France, La Hague and Marcoule “contain over 90 per cent of France’s radioactive waste inventory. Their inventories include spent fuel, separated plutonium, large quantities of liquid and vitrified high-level waste, and various types of intermediate, transuranic and low-level radioactive wastes,” according to the International Panel of Fissile Materials.
The fuel is controversial, and a number of environmental groups have lined up against its use, saying the plants that process the highly radioactive material are dangerous places.
The site is located in the Gard region of France, in Langedoc Roussillon, near the Mediterranean Sea.
Midi Libre, a local paper in Montpellier, near the site, says the explosion occurred at 11:45 a.m. local time.
It says one person was seriously injured and has been airlifted to a hospital in Montpellier. Three others were taken to a local hospital.
No evacuation notice was given to the local area but a security perimeter around the site has been established, according to reports.
Marcoule opened in 1950s
Marcoule is owned by French power utility EDF and is adjacent to a nuclear research centre.
The furnace that exploded is used to melt waste with levels of radioactivity ranging from low to very high, according to ASN.
The reason for the blast wasn't immediately clear, but officials said it was contained within the furnace area.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has contacted French authorities to learn more about how the explosion may have happened.
Marcoule, opened in the 1950s, is one of the oldest nuclear sites in France, which relies on nuclear energy for more than two-thirds of its energy needs.
France's 58 nuclear reactors have been put through stress tests since the March disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant linked to an earthquake and tsunami.
