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Plutonium leaks at Austrian plant | Plutonium leaks at Austrian plant |
(about 1 hour later) | |
There has been a plutonium leak at a site run by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Austria. | |
UN nuclear monitors said pressure had built up and plutonium had contaminated a storage-room at the Seibersdorf laboratory, south of Vienna. | |
Last year the head of the IAEA warned the facility was outdated and did not meet UN safety standards. | |
Austrian officials said the empty lab had been sealed off and no-one was at risk. An investigation is planned. | |
The lab is used to carry out tests on samples taken during IAEA inspection missions. | The lab is used to carry out tests on samples taken during IAEA inspection missions. |
El-Baradei warning | El-Baradei warning |
"Pressure build-up in a small sealed sample bottle in a storage safe resulted in plutonium contamination of a storage room... at the IAEA's Safeguards Analytical Laboratory in Seibersdorf," said the agency. | "Pressure build-up in a small sealed sample bottle in a storage safe resulted in plutonium contamination of a storage room... at the IAEA's Safeguards Analytical Laboratory in Seibersdorf," said the agency. |
The leak, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday, automatically set off an alarm via an air-monitoring system, said Daniel Kapp, a spokesman for Austria's environment ministry. | |
He added that radioactivity in the air would have been completely contained by the lab's filters, and Austrian monitoring centres had detected no increase in radioactivity, meaning no-one was in danger. | He added that radioactivity in the air would have been completely contained by the lab's filters, and Austrian monitoring centres had detected no increase in radioactivity, meaning no-one was in danger. |
Last November, IAEA director general Mohammed ElBaradei said the site, constructed in 1970, did not meet UN safety standards. | Last November, IAEA director general Mohammed ElBaradei said the site, constructed in 1970, did not meet UN safety standards. |
He warned there was an "ever-growing risk" key components of the lab might break down, although the IAEA said there was no connection between Sunday's leak and the modernisation requirements. | He warned there was an "ever-growing risk" key components of the lab might break down, although the IAEA said there was no connection between Sunday's leak and the modernisation requirements. |