Thursday 6 September 2012

Two ‘injured’ at French nuclear plant

Two workers were said to have been injured after a gas release at France’s oldest nuclear power plant yesterday.

Initial reports claimed there was a fire at the Fessenheim nuclear site in Alsace on France’s north east border with Germany.

Owner of the plant, French electricity firm EDF has countered claims there was a fire, confirming in a tweet there had been two wounded with “slightly burned hands following the release of hydrogen peroxide vapour during maintenance”.

They later clarified the situation, saying the incident had been caused by a hydrogen peroxide spill which led to smoke and evacuation of the building. They said the nine people in the premises during the incident were examined and were not injured.

The plant has been the focus of concern after the Japanese nuclear disaster at Fukushima, as it is positioned over a fault line. The plant’s managers have said its high safety standards are enforced by regular checks from the country’s independent regulators.

The country has the second highest number of nuclear power plants in the world after the United States.