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River use banned after French uranium leak, update Jul18 08, second case groundwater contamination
by SOLARLIFE | July 12, 2008 at 07:41 pm | 375 views | 10 comments
Update july 18 2008
Second case of nuclear contaminated ground water
Opinion nuclear industry, rough translation F/E/
Ten days after the radioactive leak at Tricastin ( Vaucluse France), in a factory belonging to Areva, discharges of radioactive material " without impact on the environment " were noticed in a factory exploited by a subsidiary of Areva at Romans (Drôme France) due to broken water pipes.
" The first analyses show that there is at all no impact on the environment, because the quantities of uranium are very weak, of the order of some hundred grams " Evangelia Petit, spokesman of the Authority of nuclear security ( ASN) declared.
For the Committee(commission of research and independent information about the radioactivity): " Considering the monthly results of the follow-up of the concentration in uranium of the subterranean waters, it is reasonable to consider that the impact of these leaks is weak ". According to Criirad, this incident is with difficulty comparable with that intervened on July 7 in Tricastin ( Vaucluse).
" There are common points: it is every time a liquid leak, with some uranium, towards the ground and the basement, relative to a defect of conception or maintenance. But there are differences, notably the quantity of uranium (some hundred grams with Novels against 74 kg in Tricastin), maybe also the nature of the uranium, that is his rate of enrichment, as well as quantity transferred in the groundwater ", considered Bruno Chareyron, responsible for the laboratory of Criirad.
Residents in the Vaucluse, a popular southern French tourist destination, were banned yesterday from drinking well-water or swimming or fishing in two rivers after a uranium leak from one of France's nuclear power plants.
Germany's Social Democrat environment minister, Michael Müller, whose party is opposed to nuclear energy, said yesterday that the incident should not be taken lightly. "It's no trifle when active uranium penetrates the soil," he told Agence France Presse.
The French environmental group, the Committee for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity, said that the radioactivity released into the environment was at least 100 times higher than the fixed limit for that site for the entire year.
Greenpeace International nuclear campaigner, Aslihan Tumer, said: "Given the restrictions on the consumption and use of water in the area, it is clear that the leak poses a risk to the local population and to the environment.
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July 12, 2008 at 07:41 pm by SOLARLIFE, 375 views, 10 comments
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Comments (10)
at 19:55 on July 12th, 2008
Uranium!? That could potentially be very serious.
Thanks for posting this.
at 21:50 on July 12th, 2008
SOLARLIFE, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 22:10 on July 12th, 2008
SOLARLIFE, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 07:22 on July 13th, 2008
SOLARLIFE, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 10:50 on July 13th, 2008
thanks amyjudd, caoimhin1, paschen, azzayindia for paying attention to this serious problem, thanks for flag. Well I am thinking meanwhile the contaminated river water should have arrived at the Rhone delta going into the mediterranean sea, would we like to swim here with less ppm pieces per million, I don't know.
at 11:18 on July 13th, 2008
I am actualy surprised not to see more interest in this story, since it will have long lasting concequences! And, no I would not recomend a swim in the mediteranian nor the fish for some time!
at 11:24 on July 13th, 2008
SOLARLIFE, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 11:38 on July 13th, 2008
Jordan, thanks for Flag, Paschen "no problem" with the fish, he is anyway contaminated with chemicals from the river. However the price of petrol/trucks going up, we have to grow again our own vegetables in southern france and decrease "imports" from spain, as well we need the local fish in the rivers back.
at 17:06 on July 13th, 2008
Sorry but the original Guardian piece is gives a false impression has incorrect figures and is very badly written.
Nulcear power generates 78 per cent of France's electricity, not 87 per cent as quoted in the article.
PLUS - the "journalist" in question seems to have gone out of her way to present "facts" to back up a very jaundiced point of view, with anti-nuclear lobby groups claims presented as "facts" when they are open to dispute.
Sarkozy has not made the "export of nuclear expertise" one of his priorities (there are far more important worries for him domestically here in France) although it would be true to say that EDF, Areva and Germany's Eon are all very important players in the nuclear industry.
The post in itself is interesting - the uranium leak was an issue, that cannot be denied - but the source in this case (I'm ashamed to say as a long-time Guardian reader) is sadly misleading.
at 09:12 on July 14th, 2008
Hy Johnny, don't you think that an unctrolled Uranium leak is a severe problem for a industry with 78 or 87% majority responsability ? The danger is that it' gets downplayed from this majority, like the russian accident. We want to live here, still can't eat mushrooms from Corsica (to radioactive). The politcal aspect you mix in, I consider as lobbying, ok.