PARIS (Reuters) - A fire caused an explosion at the Flamanville nuclear power plant in northwest France on Thursday, leading the operator EDF to take a reactor offline, but there was no risk to the reactor, EDF and a local official said on Thursday.

The state-owned firm said a fire in the turbine hall caused the explosion in a “non-nuclear” part of the power station.

The fire was brought under control, and reactor number 1 was disconnected from the grid, EDF said, adding that although there were no injuries, five people had been affected by fumes.

The Flamanville 1 and 2 reactors, which each have a electricity generating capacity of 1,300 megawatts, were built in the 1980s.

CONTROVERSY

Industry experts said fires of this nature happened fairly frequently and that there was unlikely to have been any release of radiation, but Flamanville is at the centre of a deep controversy in France over the future of its nuclear industry and the degree to which its engineering can be trusted.

Atomic power accounted for over 70 percent of the country’s power generation in 2015, and reactors made by another state-controlled firm, Areva, have been installed around the world.

Areva and EDF are building the prototype for a new generation of reactor at the Flamanville site on the Normandy coast in the hope it can be the first of many and extricate them from financial difficulty.

Areva is close to bankruptcy due to a lack of orders, disputes with existing customers, and an investigation into document falsification and is undergoing a restructuring that involves EDF buying a part of the business.</s>An explosion has occurred at Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant, in France’s north-west, officials told local media, adding that several people were slightly injured after inhaling the fumes, though there is no nuclear risk.

The incident occurred at 9:45 local time (08:45 GMT) in an engine room, Électricité de France (EDF) said in a statement. The power at Reactor №1 was “disconnected automatically” after the blaze started in an engine room in the non-nuclear part of the facility.

At least five people have been slightly injured inhaling the fumes caused by the blast, AFP reports citing authorities.

There is no contamination risk to locals, authorities said.

According to AFP, the Unit 1 reactor will still temporarily be shut down, however.

“It is a significant technical failure but it is not a nuclear accident” because the explosion occurred “outside the nuclear zone,” Olivier Marmion, director of the prefect’s office, told AFP.

The nuclear plant located in the Flamanville commune has two pressurized water reactors that produce 1.3 GWe (gigawatt electrical) each. The reactors were built in 1986 and 1987. A third reactor will be completed by 2018.

The plant is owned by Électricité de France (EDF), a French electric utility company, headquartered in Paris.

This article (Explosion at Flamanville nuclear power plant in France, no risk of contamination) was originally published on RT News and syndicated by The Event Chronicle.</s>Several people are being treated for smoke inhalation after an explosion at a nuclear power plant in France.

Authorities said there was "no nuclear risk" following the blast in Flamanville around 10am local time (9am GMT) on Thursday.

"It is a significant technical issue but does not constitute a nuclear accident," Olivier Marmion, director of the prefect's office, told AFP, adding that the explosion occurred outside the nuclear zone.

Officials said the blast took place in the plant's machine room and confirmed there was no radioactive leak.

Five people were treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation, with no serious injuries immediately reported.

Emergency services were at the scene, where a fire was burning according to Ouest France.

EDF Energy, which runs the plant, did not immediately respond to The Independent's request for information.

The Flamanville nuclear power plant, located on the Cotentin Peninsula in La Manche, houses two pressurised water reactors built in the 1980s, and a third reactor that remains under construction after a series of delays.

Hundreds have joined protests against the reactor, which is due to be turned on in 2018 after costing an estimated €10.5bn (£9bn).

A radioactive leak occurred in 2012 from reactor one, which was at a standstill at that time.</s>Some injuries are feared at a nuclear power plant in Manche city of France.

The explosion occurred at EDF's Flamanville Reactor but there is no nuclear risk, Ouest a French newspaper reported.</s>An explosion at the compound of the Flamanville nuclear power plant was "a significant technical event but it is not a nuclear accident," an official tells local media. A fire that was also reported in the engine room where the explosion hit is now reportedly under control.

The plant has two reactors; the fire and explosion took place in the engine room of reactor No. 1, which was automatically shut down, France Info reports. The outlet adds that while there were no serious injuries, five people suffered slight intoxication, evidently from the fumes.

The explosion hit around 10 a.m. local time at the nuclear power generating facility along the English Channel, according to news site Ouest France. Citing Olivier Marmion, Chief of Staff of the prefect, Ouest France says the trouble occurred outside the plant's nuclear zone.

EDF, the electric utility that operates the plant said Thursday that there was "no victim and no consequences for safety and the environment."</s>A fire caused an explosion at EDF's Flamanville nuclear power plant in northern France on Thursday, leading the utility to take a reactor offline, but there was no associated nuclear risk, EDF and a local government official said on Thursday.

State-owned EDF said in a statement a fire in a machine room caused the explosion in a "non-nuclear" part of the power station.

It added that the fire had been brought under control by its team there and that reactor number 1 had been disconnected from the grid.

It said there were no injuries but five people had been affected by fumes.

The Flamanville 1 and 2 reactors, which each have a electricity generating capacity of 1,300 megawatts, were built in the 1980s. A new reactor is being built at the site but the explosion was not there, a spokeswoman said.

The nuclear safety authority ASN said it had no information and could not immediately comment.</s>A fire caused an explosion at the Flamanville nuclear power plant in northwest France on Thursday, leading the operator EDF to take a reactor offline, but there was no risk to the reactor, EDF and a local official said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO A general view shows France's oldest Electricite de France nuclear power station, outside the eastern French village of Fessenheim, near Colmar, France, September 5, 2012.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com.</s>PARIS—A fire and a blast forced French state-controlled power utility Electricite de France SA, or EDF, to halt its Flamanville nuclear power plant Thursday morning, the company said.

The fire and subsequent explosion happened in the “non-nuclear zone” of the plant, in northern France, and no one was hurt. The incident hasn’t done harm to the...</s>An explosion at a nuclear power plant in northern France on Thursday caused minor injuries but took place outside the plant's nuclear zone and posed no risk of contamination, the authorities said.

"It is a significant technical event but it is not a nuclear accident," senior local official Olivier Marmion told AFP following the blast at the Flamanville plant 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Cherbourg.

The cause of the explosion at the power station, which has been in operation since the 1980s, was not immediately known.

Marmion said five people had reported feeling unwell but that there were no serious injuries, adding that rescue services were at the site.

One of the plant's two reactors was shut down after the explosion and the incident was declared over at 1100 GMT, the authorities said.</s>PARIS — French authorities say there has been an explosion in a nuclear power plant's machine room but that there is no leak of radiation. No injuries have been reported.

The local government for the Manche region says that the blast at the Flamanville plant on France's northwest coast has been contained and managed.

Operator EDF said that there were no injuries and that a fire led to a blast in the machine room of one of the two nuclear reactors at Flamanville. EDF says that the fire was "immediately" brought under control.

EDF said that the No. 1 reactor was disconnected from the grid.
A fire at the Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant in northwest France caused an explosion in a "non-nuclear" part of the station. One reactor was taken offline and five people were affected by fumes. The accident did not cause a radioactive leak.