In the southern French Marcoule nuclear plant took place on Monday an explosion . A person has been killed in the blast, four others injured. One of them seriously.
Initially, it was not clear whetherradioactive material could escape from the plant near Avignon. Now the all-clear: There was no radioactivity leaked, according to a spokeswoman for the Atomic Energy Commission CEA.
Outside the facility is so far no release of radioactivity was measured, also said Sven Dokter, spokesman for the Society for Plant and Reactor Safety (GRS), referring to French colleagues.
The explosion took place according to the authorities in an incinerator for low-level radioactive waste. It is located in the town near the nuclear plant Codolet Marcoule and is managed from there. Among the low-level radioactive waste include clothing of workers, as well as metals and concrete.
Meanwhile, they are likely to not more so, that could still emerge radioactivity, Doctor. "The building, which houses the furnace is intact," he said, referring to information from the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN).
The cause of the explosion is not yet known.
At Marcoule is a facility that specializes in the handling of radioactive materials. Reactors, it is not there. "It is an industrial accident, not a nuclear accident," said a spokesman for the state electricity company EDF, whose subsidiary operates the plant Socodei.
The Marcoule nuclear plant is located some 30 kilometers north of Avignon. It consists of several smaller reactors, which are all shut down.The last power plant, a so-called fast-breeder, presented in 2010 to operate.
France has 58 reactors of the largest nuclear power producer in Europe. Even after the accident in Fukushima, the government established at the nuclear power and points to the safety of French nuclear power plants.
