One worker has been killed and four injured in an explosion this morning at a nuclear waste reprocessing plant in France. The explosion occurred in a furnace that processes low level nuclear waste, and officials insist that no radiation leak has been detected at the plant...

Nonetheless, the accident is likely to amplify emerging concerns over the safety of nuclear power after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in Japan. Though French public opinion has remained largely favourable to nuclear power, which provides 78 per cent of the country’s electricity, polls showed a growing proportion of people questioning the role of nuclear power after the Japanese catastrophe. The accident follows another incident three years ago when 75kgs of natural uranium was leaked into the environment after maintenance at the Tricastin waste treatment site, also in the south of France.

The government has begun to examine possible scenarios to reduce the country’s dependence on atomic energy, while the opposition Socialist Party has even suggested the possibility of an eventual withdrawal.

It hasn't been a good year for the nuclear industry, and those advocating its dramatic expansion.