Nuclear Power in France - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

See also: Nuclear accidents by country and Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents

Nuclear power accidents in France, all data presented is from the anti-nuclear advocate Benjamin K. Sovacool, therefore not authoritative data.

Date	Location	Description	Cost (in millions 2006 US$)
17 October 1969	Saint-Laurent, France	50 kg of Uranium in one of the reactors at the Saint-Laurent Nuclear Power Plant began to melt, an event classified at 'level 4' on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). As of March 2011, this remains the most serious civil nuclear power accident in France.	?
25 July 1979	Saclay, France	Radioactive fluids escape into drains designed for ordinary wastes, seeping into the local watershed at the Saclay BL3 Reactor	5
13 March 1980	Loir-et-Cher, France	A malfunctioning cooling system fuses fuel elements together at the Saint Laurent A2 reactor, ruining the fuel assembly and forcing an extended shutdown	22
14 April 1984	Bugey, France	Electrical cables fail at the command centre of the Bugey Nuclear Power Plant and force a complete shutdown of one reactor	2
22 May 1986	Normandy, France	A reprocessing plant at La Hague malfunctions and exposes workers to unsafe levels of radiation and forces five to be hospitalised	5
12 April 1987	Tricastin, France	Tricastin fast breeder reactor leaks coolant, sodium and uranium hexachloride, injuring seven workers and contaminating water supplies	50
27 December 1999	Blayais, France	An unexpectedly strong storm floods the Blayais Nuclear Power Plant, forcing an emergency shutdown after injection pumps and containment safety systems fail from water damage	55
21 January 2002	Manche, France	Control systems and safety valves fail after improper installation of condensers, forcing a two-month shutdown	102
16 May 2005	Lorraine, France	Sub-standard electrical cables at the Cattenom-2 nuclear reactor cause a fire in an electricity tunnel, damaging safety systems	12
13 July 2008	Tricastin, France	75 kg of natural uranium, in thousands of litres of solution, accidentally spilled on the ground and run off into a nearby river	7
12 August 2009	Gravelines, France	Assembly system fails to properly eject spent fuel rods from the Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant, causing the fuel rods to jam and the reactor to shut down	2
12 September 2011	Marcoule, France	One person was killed and four injured, one seriously, in a blast at the Marcoule Nuclear Site. The explosion took place in a furnace used to melt metallic waste and did not represent a nuclear accident.	?

In July 2008, 18,000 litres (4,755 gallons) of uranium solution containing natural uranium were accidentally released from Tricastin Nuclear Power Centre. Due to cleaning and repair work the containment system for a uranium solution holding tank was not functional when the tank filled. The inflow exceeded the tank's capacity and 30 cubic metres of uranium solution leaked, with 18 cubic metres spilled on the ground. Testing found elevated uranium levels in the nearby Gaffière and Lauzon rivers. The liquid that escaped to the ground contained about 75 kg of natural uranium, which is toxic as a heavy metal, but only slightly radioactive. Estimates for the releases were initially higher, up to 360 kg of natural uranium, but revised downward later. French authorities banned the use of water from the Gaffière and Lauzon for drinking and watering of crops for 2 weeks. Swimming, water sports and fishing were also banned. This incident has been classified as Level 1 (anomaly) on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Shortly after the first incident, approximately 100 employees were exposed to minor doses of radiation (1/40 of the annual limit) due to a piping failure.