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Surprised this is the top story on HN.

The linked article says little and just quotes other media reports. If you follow through (and speak French), the report in Le Figaro says "For now, there is no release outside the plant" (http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2011/09/12/01016-201...)

There are many problems at nuclear sites around the world, not sure HN needs to take a 'BREAKING NEWS' approach to them.

(Of course, maybe I'm just bitter that my post about teaching children to code didn't get upvoted while this stuff did: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2986791)

Apparently, the site is not a nuclear plant. But they do manipulate nuclear matter.
They specifically say weapons.

But the anti-nuclear groups aren't going to make that distinction. Which to me is like saying, we shouldn't use solar because someone used a laser pointer against helicopters.

Hu ? Where do you see anything about weapons ? The Marcoule Plant produce MOX fuel to recyle Nuclear waste and they also store Nuclear Waste. And Marcoule is also one of the more important Civil Nuclear Research Facilities.

Oh, and by the way they had a problem with this facility in march also. A level 2 (of 7) accident.

"The plant produces MOX fuel, which recycles plutonium from nuclear weapon"
You're right.

But BBC is wrong. Marcoule recycle Plutonium comming from COGEMA La Hague nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. And this plant has half the reprocessing capacity... in the World. They reprocess nuclear waste from a lot of countries... including Switzerland or Germany and others which do not have nuclear weapons.

And then all that Nuclear Waste is sent to Marcoule to be recycled.

They ALSO recyle some nuclear weapons. But most nuclear weapons recycling is done in Russia and US. Not in France.

This could have happened at any industrial site. In fact, it does happen at many industrial sites, with surprising regularity and occasionally catastrophic environmental consequences. Check out wikipedia's list of industrial disasters to see just how often. I hope that this news story fades into the background within hours or days, just like all of the other news about fatality automobile accidents, chemical plant spills, dam bursts, and muggings gone wrong.
"Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic."

Flagged.

If it was really bad, do you think they'd be saying so?
Huuuummm... let me think.

No. It's French government. Hide First. Think After.

(In 1987 they said that the Nuclear Cloud coming from Tchernobyl had stoped at the frontier with Germany... so that the State had not to pay for medical treatment of Cancer to public servants).