Space Travel News  
Belgium reduces safety zone near nuclear iodine leak site

by Staff Writers
Brussels (AFP) Aug 30, 2008
Belgian authorities reduced on Saturday a safety zone near a medical laboratory in the southern town of Fleurus where a leak of radioactive iodine occurred recently.

On Friday, authorities had recommended precautionary measures to avoid the risk of contamination in a five-kilometre (three-mile) zone near the laboratory, where a leak of radioactive iodine was detected last weekend.

Police cruised the streets instructing residents over a loudspeaker to not eat fruit and leafy vegetables from their gardens or drink milk from local farms within the zone.

However, on Saturday, the zone was reduced to three kilometres where authorities recommended that fruit and vegetables from local gardens not be consumed until September 7.

"Tests carried out (on Friday) do not detect radioactivity any more in either the air or the water," a statement from the government's crisis centre said.

"Further tests will take place in the coming days to follow the situation closely," it added.

The incident put local residents on edge because authorities had at first said their was no risk of contamination only later to urge the precautionary measures.

Vice Prime Minister Didier Reynders told the Belga news agency on Saturday that he had ordered Interior Minister Patrick Dewael and Energy Minister Paul Magnette to produce a report on exactly what had happened and how the incident was handled.

The leak occurred last weekend at the Institut des Radioelements, a laboratory which makes radioisotopes used in medical imaging and treating cancer.

French-language Belgian newspaper Le Soir reported Saturday that Belgian and French nuclear safety authorities had found security lapses at the lab in a joint audit in November 2007.

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Iran offers nuclear aid to Nigeria
Abuja (AFP) Aug 29, 2008
Iran is ready to share its nuclear technology with Nigeria to help the energy-starved west African powerhouse boost electricity generation, a senior Iranian official has said.







  • Test rocket destroyed by NASA after launch
  • NASA to use shock-absorbers to fix shaking in new Ares rocket
  • NASA And ATK To Launch Suborbital Hypersonic Experiments
  • Andrews Awarded Aerojet Contract To Build Hardware For Sundancer

  • Arianespace To Launch Koreasat 6
  • Inmarsat Selects ILS Proton To Launch S-Band Satellite For Europe
  • Forecast International Projects 50 Billion Dollar ELV Market
  • Successful Launch For Third Inmarsat-4 Satellite

  • NASA delays Atlantis move to launch pad
  • NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis To Move To Launch Pad Saturday
  • Kennedy Space Center reopening delayed
  • NASA Keeps Atlantis Target Launch Date

  • ISS Orbit Adjusted To Dodge Space Junk
  • Computer virus goes into orbit
  • ISS Program Facing Hard Choices
  • US-Russia chill threatens NASA space program

  • Mapping The Planets, The Moons And The Asteroids
  • Ares Progress Report For August
  • Going Looney In Space
  • Elegant Resorts And Virgin Galactic Make Space Travel A Reality

  • China to launch Venezuela's first satellite: Chavez
  • China's Space Ambitions
  • Rocket For China's Manned Space Mission At Launch Center
  • China To Release 700 Hours Of Chang'e-1 Data

  • Robots Learn To Follow
  • Robot-assisted surgery repairs fistulas
  • Japanese Researchers Eye e-Skin For Robots
  • Robots may enhance disabled people's lives

  • Antarctic Research Helps Shed Light On Climate Change On Mars
  • Taking The Opportunity To Escape From Crater Victoria
  • Phoenix Mission Conducting Extended Activities On Mars
  • NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Ascends To Level Ground

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement