Dangerous Blast Reported in French Nuclear Site

A general view of the nuclear power plant of Marcoule, in Chusclan, France, 30 March 2011. EPA/BGNES

A blast has been reported at a nuclear waste management site in France and there is an alleged risk of a leak.

One dead and three injured are reported, La Figaro says. A fire in a storage site for radioactive waste is expected to have caused the accident. A security cordon is in place.

Marcoule is a nuclear waste management site that does not include any reactors. The explosion took place near a furnace, according to a spokesperson of the French nuclear watchdog ASN, as cited by international media.

The furnace that exploded is used to melt waste with levels of radioactivity ranging from low to very high, ASN said.

ASN has not provided an immediate explanation of the blast but insisted that its consequences have been contained on the spot.

France is the world's most nuclear-reliant country with 58 nuclear reactors. It has been carrying out stress tests on its own nuclear facilities in the aftermath of the Fukushima NPP disaster in Japan, where French experts were also summoned to help tackle the consequences.

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