Late last night an explosion occurred in an engine room at the Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant, in France’s northwest region. After the blaze started the power at Reactor №1 was “disconnected automatically.” Though five people were slightly injured after they inhaled fumes, authorities claim there is no nuclear contamination risk to locals.

While the explosion was a “significant technical failure,” it’s not a nuclear accident because the explosion happened outside of the “nuclear zone”.

From the article:

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

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.”

We will update you if more information becomes available.

Source: SOTT