Breaking: explosion at the Marcoule French Nuclear plant

Just cant trust em. Wikipedia even states there is a reactor

Diversification of the site was started in the 1970s with the creation of the Phénix prototype fast breeder reactor, and is nowadays an important site for decommissioning nuclear facilities activities. Since 1995, the MELOX factory produces MOX from a mix of uranium and plutonium oxides. MOX is used to recycle plutonium from nuclear fuel; this plutonium comes from the COGEMA La Hague site.

Reactors
The site housed a number of the first generation French UNGG reactors, of which have all been shut down. Since then, it has also operated a pressurized water reactor that was used for the purpose of producing Tritium. Cooling for all of the plants comes from the Rhône river.

Update: IAEA confirms shutdown Link

Originally posted by LightAssassin
reply to post by LilFox

 

Hold on. Whats 'right' about Nuclear Power? Can you please explain to me a 'right' way it's meant to be done that doesn't involve poisonous waste to our environment whatsoever?!?!?

edit on 12-9-2011 by LightAssassin because: (no reason given)

Mini-reactors are as good as it gets. I'd say the cutting edge in nuclear power still doesn't, uh, cut it:

As in modern reactors, the containment shell acts as a heat exchanger, Reyes explains. The water closest to the core is vented into the outer shell as steam, where it condenses and drips into the cooling pool, which is recirculated to cool the core. The whole unit sits below grade, without telltale cooling towers. The reactor doesn't use pumps to circulate the water if the unit overheats, which means it needs no external power to cool down. That's a "passive safety" feature that protects the unit from electrical sabotage.

Safer, smaller, still producing waste.

It's asinine to me that the resources and man-power thrown at mini-reactors weren't properly allocated toward R&D on one of the several more viable alternatives.

France (and potentially Europe), you have my deepest sympathies.

I said I'd post a map of the area but for some reason I can't copy/paste the google map url in here

just go to google maps and type in 'marcoule',
you'll see the site on the left of the river (it's blured out when you zoom in)

then about 25 km north you'll see the site of 'Tricastin' where the 'Pierrelatte nuclear plant' is.


There hasn't been an working reactor on the Marcoule site in years, the nearest plant with working reactor is north on the Tricastin site.

Hope that was enough

reply to post by mistermonculous


There are so many, from pebble bed to nuclear battery. Passively cooled reactors

I do remember a unit which is currently in development, I wish I could remember what it was called. I believe it was a variation of a heavy water reactor, completely safe and produces enough power for a suburb for 3+ years, when it was "spent", a truck would pump out the waste and re-fill it.

The reason we don't do it? There is no money in decommissioning.
If I was in the industry I would propose a mandatory upgrade system, every new development would be rated and every reactor given a score in various categories. Upgrades and new technology given a high enough rating must be installed, unless the plant met other safety requirements which resulted in the feature of the new tech redundant or negligible in importance. No more ancient reactors, no more Fukushima's and perhaps, with the mandatory increase in cost per KW due to the increase in cost of running the reactor, irresponsible companies such as Tepco will not run reactors anymore and alternatives will be competitive. Just my .02c

reply to post by LilFox


Thanks for that. Fascinating stuff, still not a huge nukes fan.

You're one smart lady. It would be nice if more folks like you could serve on regulatory boards without having to buy their way onto them.

reply to post by mistermonculous


Why thank you dearly

I just wrote that suggestion up with more detail and emailed the IAEA, who knows, might make a difference.

My goodness, it is amazing how stories get so twisted as they travel further away! I am going to remember that when I hear stories of things happening far away from me!
This event is in my area. From the first moment it happened, the news radio has been covering it. From the beginning it was stated repeatedly that there was no risk of leakage. No perimeter had been set up. The readings never indicated any leakage at all.
It was an oven that exploded. No fire continued or spread.

Originally posted by Bluesma
My goodness, it is amazing how stories get so twisted as they travel further away! I am going to remember that when I hear stories of things happening far away from me!
This event is in my area. From the first moment it happened, the news radio has been covering it. From the beginning it was stated repeatedly that there was no risk of leakage. No perimeter had been set up. The readings never indicated any leakage at all.
It was an oven that exploded. No fire continued or spread.

is that really any surprise? last week the story was "Massive Blackout in the Southwest US". except i live in the Southwest but this "massive" blackout somehow skipped over my state. week before that it was "ELEnin is going to destroy the earth" but somehow that story has dropped from the leader boards. This weekend it was some drivel about the earthquake in Canada was a precursor the next scheduled End Of The World, but that didn't materialize. i've got an app on my phone that alerts you of every earthquake happening...and needless to say it always has, and will continue, to beep all day long.

i'm in a state of shock that this site is susposed to be a site of "Truth", but when people say anything they feel like saying they aren't bought to account for it.

Maybe ATS itself is an agent of the government. who knows, but i wouldn't doubt it.

i won't doubt these comments will be taken down within minutes of me writing them, either.

reply to post by lkpuede


I noticed recently that a lot of the threads here have been pure speculation. This thread was reporting a news story, which was good.

Tritium is used in susat rifle sights as it is particulalrly visible at night because it glows, but if this incident is being soft peddled its probably time to panic

Seriously people? A couple guys were cooking a mean on break and the oven exploded and the shrapnel killed on guy and injured the rest. Don't be paranoid.

Holy shxt! this hits close to home. I live in Lebanon, downwind from the south of france... this better be something minor and under control.. anyone notice all the nuclear problems happening as of late? they used to happen once every 10 years or so, (or so we were told).... hmm... intriguing and frightening... together..


also, was anyone aware of the nuclear plant blast in france on the 6th of august in tricastin?
www.youtube.com...

well, great. i just found out that the marcoule plant is a plutonium processing plant. shxt.

damn......... whats going on?

thing like this are bound to happen in a country who thinks its citizenry works too much

as in frances 30 hour work week.

everyone is a fan of alternative energy until they put it in their own back yard til then what works and whats cheap will continue.

I heard about this here first, and not a word from MSM in my location (just a small link if you search carefully).

Tragic news, even if there is no radiation leak.

S&F for the OP

Originally posted by ModerateSkeptic
I heard about this here first, and not a word from MSM in my location (just a small link if you search carefully).

Tragic news, even if there is no radiation leak.

S&F for the OP

edit on 12-9-2011 by ModerateSkeptic because: (no reason given)

Was all over the news here as it happened.

Originally posted by ModerateSkeptic
I heard about this here first, and not a word from MSM in my location (just a small link if you search carefully).

Tragic news, even if there is no radiation leak.

S&F for the OP

edit on 12-9-2011 by ModerateSkeptic because: (no reason given)

I was driving my car and had the radio on, and they started reporting 20 minutes after it happened.

reply to post by Bluesma


At least there are reports somewhere, there is nothing here yet. Maybe it's not that important, or then it's political (strong opposition for nuclear power here and they are building two additional plants). I don't know.

Anyway, here:
hisz.rsoe.hu...
The report is still that there is a risk of radiation leak, but it could be old info.

There is a risk of a radioactive leak after a blast at the southern French nuclear plant of Marcoule, media reports say. One person was killed and three were injured in the explosion, following a fire in a storage site for radioactive waste, Le Figaro newspaper said. The plant is in the Gard region. It is a major site involved with the decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and operates a pressurised water reactor used to produce tritium.

Originally posted by jamieastronaut
Holy shxt! this hits close to home. I live in Lebanon, downwind from the south of france... this better be something minor and under control.. anyone notice all the nuclear problems happening as of late? they used to happen once every 10 years or so, (or so we were told).... hmm... intriguing and frightening... together..


also, was anyone aware of the nuclear plant blast in france on the 6th of august in tricastin?
www.youtube.com...

well, great. i just found out that the marcoule plant is a plutonium processing plant. shxt.

damn......... whats going on?

edit on 12-9-2011 by jamieastronaut because: 6th of august blast

edit on 12-9-2011 by jamieastronaut because: plutonium..................

I don't think more accidents are happening than what used to. I think that since the tsunami in Japan, people are more concerned, paying more attention, and the media supplies demand. Like the accident in Tricastin was a transformer that exploded (a rather common event) far away from any of the reactors or radioactive material. It was in a totally different area. Before the accident in Japan, no one would have heard about it because it was a common accident, NON-nuclear, and no one was killed or injured.

-And yes, this recent accident is over with. It was an oven (an incinerator) that exploded.

reply to post by elevenaugust


What are the chances of having so many mishaps and problems at all these nuclear plants at the same time in history? I mean I have been hearing non stop stories about nuclear plants. Such as the flooding at the Nebraska nuclear plant. The weird thing is I was investigating the diablo nuclear plant in San Luis Obispo California and noticed a story of an invasion of jelly fish.... that's weird because a whole lot of other nuclear plants had an invasion of jelly fish and had to shut down....... www.ibtimes.com... tm quite a coincidence....something is up.


for some reason that link did not work but this one does....www.ibtimes.com... l-grow.htm

Originally posted by LightAssassin
reply to post by jameshawkings

 

Here

Thank you, very interesting!