IAEA Reports Radiation At Nuclear Waste Site

A UN inspector and two other people are being checked for radiation exposure after a “contamination incident’’ at a nuclear waste processing facility in Belgium, the UN atomic agency said on Wednesday.

Belgian authorities say no radioactivity leaked into the environment after Tuesday afternoon’s incident at the Belgoprocess facility in the northern municipality of Dessel, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

“The inspector, accompanied by a EURATOM inspector and a Belgoprocess official, was conducting a routine inspection at the facility when the incident occurred,’’ it said in a statement.

The three have undergone “external decontamination procedures’’ and medical checks and are now being assessed to determine the level of their exposure, the Vienna-based agency said.

“Belgian authorities have reported that the incident area has been sealed off and no radioactivity has been released to the environment,’’ it added.

“Decontamination of the facility is expected to begin soon.’’

Public fears about the safety of nuclear energy rose worldwide after the Fukushima power plant accident in Japan in March, the worst such disaster in 25 years.

Last month, a furnace exploded at the Marcoule nuclear waste treatment site in southern France, killing one person, but there was no leak of radioactive material outside the furnace, France’s ASN nuclear safety watchdog said.