France

Ferry shipments of 'terror-threat' plutonium end

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Top-secret consignments across Channel are halted as a result of IoS investigation

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'It feels like a sci-fi film' - accidents tarnish nuclear dream

Saturday, July 26, 2008

French nuclear companies are hoping to play a central role in the government's plan to build a new generation of reactors. At home, however, the industry has been buffeted by a series of mishaps. Angelique Chrisafis reports from Bollène

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French environmentalists alarmed after fresh nuclear incident

Thursday, July 24, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — French environmentalists sounded the alarm Thursday after the third incident this month at a nuclear plant left 100 employees contaminated.

"This new incident shows that nuclear energy, which is presented as clean and safe, remains a dangerous, polluting and poorly controlled energy," a spokesman for environmental group Greenpeace told AFP.

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New contamination incident at French nuclear site

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

PARIS (Reuters) - Around 100 staff at a nuclear power plant in southern France were contaminated with a low dose of radiation on Wednesday, power firm EDF said, the latest incident there after a case of uranium spillage two weeks ago.

EDF said in a statement that sensors detected a rise in the level of radiation while maintenance work was being carried out at the Tricastin site's reactor number four, which had been shut since July 12.

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Name change for French wine to avoid link with nuclear plant

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

LYON, France (AFP) — A French wine could soon change its name before next year's grape harvest to avoid being associated with a uranium leak at an eponymous nuclear power facility.

"The idea is making progress and I hope it will be achieved before the 2009 harvest," said Henri Bour, president of the Coteaux du Tricastin controlled term of origin, or "appellation d'origine controlee".

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15 French nuke workers are exposed to radioactivity

Monday, July 21, 2008

PARIS (AP) — Electricite de France says 15 workers were exposed to radioactive contamination while carrying out maintenance at a nuclear plant in the French Alps.

France's nuclear industry is under increased scrutiny following uranium leaks earlier this month. France depends on nuclear power for the majority of its electricity.

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French nuclear firm admits uranium leaks at two plants

Saturday, July 19, 2008

he French nuclear giant Areva yesterday confirmed there was a radioactive leak from a broken pipe at a nuclear fuel plant in south-eastern France, a week after a uranium spill at another of its plants polluted the local water supply.

The latest incident comes as an embarrassment to the French government as it struggles to contain environmentalists' anger and reassure residents near its nuclear plants that they are safe.

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France orders probe at all nuclear sites

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The French government on Thursday ordered an investigation into the water table around all of France’s 58 nuclear reactors in an effort to dispel fears raised by a leak from a treatment plant run by Areva in southern France.

Jean-Louis Borloo, ecology minister, has asked an independent committee to carry out the probe to stem mounting public concern over nuclear waste management after a low-grade leak at the Socatri treatment plant at Tricastin focused public attention on a still unexplained, older contamination of the water table.

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Checks ordered at French nuclear sites after leak

Thursday, July 17, 2008

PARIS (Reuters) - Authorities will hold tests at all French nuclear power plants to ensure leaks like the one this month at Tricastin in southern France have not occurred, Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo told a newspaper.

Plant operator Areva said earlier this month that 30 cubic meters of liquid containing non-enriched uranium was accidentally poured on to the ground and into a river at the Tricastin site.

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Areva mishandled uranium leak: safety body

Monday, July 14, 2008

PARIS (Reuters) - France's nuclear safety authority (ASN) said on Friday that Areva-subsidiary Socatri had poorly managed a leak of liquid containing uranium that occurred in southeastern France this week.

The nuclear watchdog inspected the site on Thursday.

"The management of the crisis by the company involved has shown omissions in terms of communication to the authorities," the ASN said in a statement.

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