Austria: Plutonium leaks at IAEA nuclear laboratory

On August 3, a plutonium leak happened at the nuclear laboratory of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Seibersdorf, south of Austria's capital Vienna. Luckily no one is in danger and there is no risk of the environment.

According to United Nations nuclear supervisors, the cause of the leak due to pressure in a bottle of sealed plutonium samples increased the cork, causing contamination in the laboratory.

This laboratory was used to test samples (uranium or plutonium) during IAEA inspections. Austrian officials said when the incident happened, no one was in the laboratory and no one was in danger. An investigation is underway.

Daniel Kapp, an Austrian Environment spokesman, said the leak was detected and alarmed through an air monitoring system and they did not detect radioactive material outside the laboratory.

Last November, the director of the IAEA Mohammed ElBaradei warned that the laboratory, built in 1970, was out of date, failing to meet United Nations safety standards. However, according to the IAEA, the leak on August 3 was not related to the shelf life of the laboratory.

A scientist works at one of the IAEA laboratories in Seibersdorf in 2002 - (Photo: AFP)