Tricastin pauses for alarm

Refuelling and maintenance work is to restart at Tricastin 4 this afternoon, following a radiation alarm yesterday morning. Workers in and around unit 4 were sent to the power plant's medical centre after alarms sounded to indicate an increase in radiation compared to normal levels. All 129 staff and contractors in and around the reactor at the time of the alarm were checked, with 39 presenting traces of radiation too low to be analysed and 61 presenting "weak traces" lower than 2.5% of the operational limit of 20mSv per person per year. Caroline Muller of owner-operator Electricité de France told World Nuclear News the alarm sounded after a filter on a ventilation duct failed, and that outage work is set to restart after its replacement this afternoon. She added that EdF have suggested to safety authorities that the event be classified as Level 0 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, 'no safety significance'. Tricastin hosts four power reactors, as well as one operating uranium enrichment plant and another under construction. The site has been a focus of attention after the recent spillage of 30 cubic metres of uranium-bearing solution at a facility associated with the enrichment activities.