BusinessWeek on Areva's Leaks
Jul. 29th, 2008 12:28 pmIf the supposedly sophisticated, and pro-nuke, French public is concerned, perhaps others should be too. I guess this is what happens when clay feet are suddenly discovered on the hero.
Will French Leaks Harm Nuclear's Revival? - BusinessWeek - 28 Jul 08
Then, on July 18, Areva said it discovered enriched uranium seeping from a broken pipe at a nuclear fuel processing site in Romans-sur-Isère, about 60 miles (100 km) from Tricastin. The same day, utility company Electricité de France (EDF.PA) said 15 employees had been exposed to low levels of radiation at a nuclear plant in the Rhône Valley south of Lyon. And on July 23, EDF said 100 employees at its nuclear plant in Tricastin, which is separate from the Areva facility, had been exposed to low-level radiation. EDF said none of its employees faced serious health risks.
'All the facts, if you put them together, show that there is a real problem in safety and protection from radioactivity,' says Bruno Chareyron, a nuclear physicist at the Research & Independent Information Commission on Radioactivity, a French nonprofit group created after the 1986 Chernobyl accident to provide the public with an independent assessment of the country's nuclear operations. 'It's really frightening.'"
"A poll by survey group IFOP, published July 21 in the newspaper Le Monde, showed that 81% of respondents considered the Tricastin leak 'serious' and that 70% didn't trust the government to alert the public to nuclear health risks."
Will French Leaks Harm Nuclear's Revival? - BusinessWeek - 28 Jul 08
Then, on July 18, Areva said it discovered enriched uranium seeping from a broken pipe at a nuclear fuel processing site in Romans-sur-Isère, about 60 miles (100 km) from Tricastin. The same day, utility company Electricité de France (EDF.PA) said 15 employees had been exposed to low levels of radiation at a nuclear plant in the Rhône Valley south of Lyon. And on July 23, EDF said 100 employees at its nuclear plant in Tricastin, which is separate from the Areva facility, had been exposed to low-level radiation. EDF said none of its employees faced serious health risks.
'All the facts, if you put them together, show that there is a real problem in safety and protection from radioactivity,' says Bruno Chareyron, a nuclear physicist at the Research & Independent Information Commission on Radioactivity, a French nonprofit group created after the 1986 Chernobyl accident to provide the public with an independent assessment of the country's nuclear operations. 'It's really frightening.'"
"A poll by survey group IFOP, published July 21 in the newspaper Le Monde, showed that 81% of respondents considered the Tricastin leak 'serious' and that 70% didn't trust the government to alert the public to nuclear health risks."