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PARIS, July 18 (AFP) Jul 18, 2008 French nuclear safety authorities and nuclear giant Areva admitted
Friday, after a second nuclear power plant leak in as many weeks, that
security for nuclear power in the country needs revamped.
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. "I want to overhaul everything," he said. The announcement Friday that a leak had occurred at one of Areva's
nuclear fuel plants in France came amid public concern over a leak at an
another of its facilities last week. Authorities said the latest uranium spill, at the FBFC plant in
Romans-sur-Isere in the southeastern Drome region, took place when a
broken pipe had caused a radioactive leak but no environmental damage. The first spill took place July 7 at the Tricastin nuclear plant in
southern France's Vaucluse region, where residents have been told not to
drink water or eat fish from nearby rivers. During visits to the Romans and Tricastin sites, Areva chief executive
Anne Lauvergeon played down the incidents but also promised to take on
board "operational lessons" for the future. "None of these incidents had an impact on the health of the personnel
and the river residents, or their environment," she insisted, adding
that locals would "not have noticed" had circumstances played out
differently. Environmental activists, including Greenpeace, denounced the lack of
security at the nuclear power plants, dubbing the two incidents a
"tragic Tour de France of nuclear accidents." According to the ASN nuclear safety authority, the pipe defect at the
FBFC plant 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 -- producing 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 of Friday to
assess the damage. Petit said the spill did not reach the ground water and that there was
no sign of contamination. 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. After admitting to a safety lapse at Tricastin, Areva on Thursday
replaced the director of Socatri -- the Areva subsidiary that runs that
plant -- 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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