Technician killed after cylinder ruptures in Russian uranium plant | World News

One individual was killed at a uranium enrichment plant in Russia's Urals area on Friday after a cylinder containing a depleted uranium compound ruptured, state nuclear company Rosatom stated.

It stated that radiation ranges on the plant and surrounding space had been regular and that the incident posed no risk to folks residing within the space.

"We're deeply saddened to announce a tragic incident on the Ural Electrochemical Plant, leading to a employee fatality," Rosatom stated.

It stated the employee died from a "mechanical damage" attributable to a breach in a container of uranium hexafluoride, a chemical compound utilized in uranium enrichment.

Rosatom, which owns the plant, stated the depleted type of the compound was much less radioactive than pure uranium. It stated different workers had been despatched for medical examination and most had already been discharged after present process decontamination procedures.

"There isn't any hazard of any variety for residents of the town of Novouralsk or the workers of the plant," the plant's deputy manufacturing supervisor, Yuri Mineyev, stated.

The plant says it enriches uranium to be used in nuclear energy stations and is the biggest of its variety on this planet. The causes of the incident are being investigated, it stated.