No leak after Marcoule explosion

13 September 2011


There has been no release of radioactivity, and no protective action was required for the population after an explosion at a radioactive waste treatment facility near Marcoule in southern France killed one worker and injured four, one seriously, according to the French nuclear safety authority (ASN) said. There is also no risk of future radiation, according to a statement by parent company EDF.

The explosion occurred in a furnace dedicated to melting low and very low radioactive metallic waste (valves, pumps and tools). The 12 September explosion triggered a fire which burned until around 13:00. EDF said that the area which houses the furnace is intact and the two on site furnaces were stopped.

Injured people did not suffer from any radiological contamination and measurements conducted outside of the building have shown no trace of radioactive contamination.

Centraco is owned by SOCODEI, a subsidiary of EDF. EDF said that it is launching an internal investigation. French nuclear regulator ASN opened, and then closed, an emergency operations centre after the explosion. It also said that it would launch an investigation.



FilesAERB post-Fukushima report



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