[ RadSafe ] Marcoule site blast kills one

[Olsson Mattias :MSO]

One hypothesis could be that as metal scraps were tossed into the melter, there was residual water left inside one or some of the objects. It would be quite dangerous to have such a combination enter the melter as there would be a steam explosion. I have heard about similar but not as drastic incidents at the Studsvik facility in Sweden. I could imagine that having molten metal fly around the room could also start a fire.

Greenpeace keeps its head clear and gives us the following senseful commentary (http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/accident-at-marcoule-nuclear-facility-in-fran/blog/36735/):

"Information is still emerging and we do not know the cause of the explosion, but it serves as yet another tragic reminder of the dangers of nuclear power and the urgent need for governments to follow the lead taken by Germany in phasing it out. It should be noted that this installations on the Marcoule site has not been included in the stress tests of nuclear facilities requested by the French government, nor in the last inspections by the Nuclear Safety Authority. Earlier today, Greenpeace presented an Energy Revolution scenario for Japan that shows how the country can abandon nuclear reactors already in 2012, while meeting its ambitious carbon reduction targets."

Mattias Olsson
Sweden

-----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
Från: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] För Glenn R. Marshall
Ämne: Re: [ RadSafe ] Fwd: WG: [srp] France nuclear: Marcoule site blast kills one


Judging by the news report it appears they have either a smelter or an incinerator that exploded and caught fire.  Probably a smelter because the article discussed melting radioactive material, which I assume is metallic waste.  "Explosion" might be an exaggeration.  In any event, one worker has been killed and perhaps others burned.

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