France Nuclear Power Plant Blast Kills 1, Injures 4

Tragic news to report out of France, a furnace at a nuclear power plant exploded on Monday killing one employee and injuring four others.

According to French energy company EDF no radioactive leaks were detected and no waste was released during the explosion.

The blast occurred in one of the plants areas responsible for processing and decommissioning nuclear waste and inspectors were immediately released to the area in order to conduct inspections. Inspectors say the building was not structurally damaged.

The plant, located in Marcoule, in southeastern France use to produce weapons-grade plutonium and is one of the oldest nuclear facilities in the country. France no longer produces plutonium.

No power drain is expected on the country, France currently receives 80% of their electricity production from their nuclear power facilities.

In the meantime officials in the country continue to debate the use of such power after the March 2011 Fukushima explosions in Japan drew international attention.

The U.S. which stores used nuclear waste in the hopes of recycling it in the future has also come under fire since that low-level waste during an explosion or another disaster could pose significant threats.

In the meantime officials are expected to continue closely monitoring the area of the building where the explosion occurred to ensure all safety guidelines are met. As you can see from the map (shown above) Paris is a considerable distance from the Marcoule plant.

Do you think country’s around the world need to get away from nuclear waste and move towards more sustainable sources of energy such as wind and solar power?