Radioactive: Russian uranium plant accident kills one, injures 100

 

Russian media reported Friday at least one person has died and a hundred others have been injured after a fatal accident at a uranium enrichment plant in central Russia’s Ural Mountains, as the injured are being examined for radioactive contamination.

The plant stated on its website that "there was one victim in the depressurisation of a cylinder containing depleted uranium hexafluoride," however, it did not indicate any casualties, according to Moscow Times.

Uranium hexafluoride is crucial in the enrichment process, which creates fuel for nuclear plants and weapons.

State nuclear corporation Rosatom said that radiation levels at the plant and surrounding area were normal and that the incident posed no threat to people living in the area.

"We are deeply saddened to announce a tragic incident at the Ural Electrochemical Plant, resulting in a worker fatality," Rosatom said.

It said the worker died "from a mechanical injury caused by a breach in a container of uranium hexafluoride, a chemical compound used in uranium enrichment."

"There is no danger of any kind for residents of the city of Novouralsk or the staff of the plant," the plant’s deputy production manager, Yuri Mineyev, said.

The plant stated that it enriches uranium for use in nuclear power stations and is the largest of its kind in the world. The causes of the incident are being investigated, it said.

The Urals Electrochemical Combine — which is located in the closed town of Novouralsk in the Sverdlovsk region — said staff at "the workshop where the incident took place were evacuated and sanitation work was underway at the site."

It also said: "The causes of the incident were being investigated.”

The Sverdlovsk region branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which investigates major crimes, launched an inspection into the matter.

Nearly a dozen countries rely on Russia for more than half of their enriched uranium, according to a report by The New York Times.