PARIS (AFP) — French nuclear safety authorities said Friday that a broken pipe at a nuclear fuel plant in southeast France had caused a radioactive leak but no damage to the environment.
The latest uranium spill at the plant run by nuclear giant Areva in Romans-sur-Isere came amid much public concern over a leak at another facility last week that polluted the local water supply.
Residents in the Vaucluse region of southern France have been told not to drink water or eat fish from nearby rivers after the liquid uranium spill on July 7 at the Tricastin nuclear plant.
According to the ASN nuclear safety authority, the pipe defect at the FBFC plant at Romans-sur-Isere in the Drome region may date back several years.
"Results from initial tests show there has been no impact at all on the environment, because the quantity of uranium was very small, in the order of a few hundred grammes," said ASN spokeswoman Evangelia Petit.
The FBFC plant produces nuclear fuel for some of France's 58 reactors, the world's largest network after the United States and which produces 80 percent of the nation's electricity.
Areva late Thursday notified the nuclear authority of the leak and three inspectors were dispatched to the site in the early hours on Friday to assess the damage.
Petit said the spill did not reach the ground water and that there was no sign of contamination.
Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said he wanted to review all security measures in the nuclear industry, carry out tests on the ground water near all reactors and assess the state of waste storage sites.
After Areva took several hours to notify nuclear authorities over the Tricastin spill, Borloo said he wanted to ensure that information quickly reaches the public.
The minister said that while there were "very, very tight controls" when it came to nuclear reactors, the safeguards appeared to be not as foolproof for treatment plants and other facilities.
Areva president Anne Lauvergeon was later Friday due to inspect the Tricastin plant, which is run by its subsidiary Socatri.
After admitting to a safety lapse at Tricastin, Areva on Thursday replaced Socatri's director and announced an internal audit to determine what went wrong.
Swimming and water sports have also been forbidden as is irrigation of crops with the contaminated water.
The leak ranked as a level-one incident on the seven-point scale to guage the seriousness of nuclear accidents.
Last year, there were 86 level-one incidents in France, down from 114 the previous year, said Borloo.
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