'Fire' at French Fessenheim nuclear power station

A fire has broken out at a nuclear power station in France, leaving several people injured, emergency officials and media reports say. Fire crews are dealing with the incident at the Fessenheim plant in eastern France near the German border. Local government and fire service officials quoted by Reuters said the cause was an "involuntary chemical reaction". The power station has the oldest nuclear reactors in France. It has been the target of regular anti-nuclear protests.

BBC News

I don't know why 'fire' is in inverted commas. I hope this isn't too serious. The last thing we need is another nuclear disaster.

Fessenheim nuclear power plant

More to follow

It seems like a release of oxygenised steam was to blame following a leak of hydrogen peroxide, hence initially being reported as a 'fire' I don't know anything about nuclear powerplants so no idea how serious an incident like this is?

reply to post by fiftyfifty


Apparently everything is "fine".

"It was not a fire," the local prefecture said. "There was an outlet of oxygenated steam" produced after hydrogen peroxide reacted with water in a reservoir. About 50 firefighters have been deployed, an official from the service said. French power supplier EDF said "two people were slightly burnt through their gloves."

www.google.com...

...and breath. No glow in the dark onions just yet.

I wish we could simply accept their assurances without hesitation.

Actually, I wish we had some other way to verify that their not pulling a "TEPCO" .... "What? No problem, it's all under control!"

We can only hope that someone in the mix really gives a damn about the local population... more so than their revenue stream, stock value, board of directors, or trustees.

reply to post by fiftyfifty


Keep us informed, hope this works out and without any more damage or injuries. I loved that part of the planet and walked many miles in the region.

reply to post by antar

Electricite de France SA’s oldest nuclear plant will be shut as soon as possible as a pilot for dismantling atomic sites, Energy Minister Delphine Batho said.

Source

It looks as though this elderly plant will be shortly shut down. I don't know if this accident sparked urgency on this, I'm sure it will have contributed. In my opinion, the sooner we get rid of nuclear power the better. I'd rather have a landscape blighted with windfarms than the invisible radiation that will eventually effect us all if things don't change.

There was an apparent radiation leak at Fessenheim from 24th - 25th June this year - showed up on the international radiation monitoring. But I don't see anything there of that nature today.