1st LD Writethru: Accidental release of radioactivity reported at nuclear site in Norway

A nuclear research reactor in southern Norway has experienced an accidental release of "small" radioactive iodine due to a technical failure and the situation was under control, the authorities said on Tuesday.

The leak took place on Monday at 13:45 local time (1145 GMT) at the reactor in the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Halden, some 120 km south of Oslo, and the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) was notified of the incident by the institute Tuesday morning, the NRPA said in a statement.

"The leak of radioactivity was due to a technical failure when handling nuclear fuel inside the reactor hall. The amount of radioactivity is regarded as small," it said.

People in the reactor hall were evacuated when the alarm went off. The institute's employees have since re-entered the reactor hall to identify the cause and extent of the leak, the NRPA said.

The IFE said in a statement that "the situation is under control" and the institute "has set emergency at the plant in Halden" in accordance with established plans.

"Our focus now is that IFE manage to stop the leak," NRPA director Per Strand said.

"We are in continuous contact with IFE. We will start a new inspection round relating to this incident to uncover how this could happen and why we were not notified until the day after," Strand added.

According to the information the NRPA has received so far, this discharge will not have any consequences for health or the environment outside the plant. Endit