INTERVIEW-Too many French nuclear workers contaminated

By Muriel Boselli

PARIS, July 24 (Reuters) - Too many French nuclear workers are being contaminated with low doses of radiation, an independent research group on atomic safety said on Thursday, a day after the latest incident in southern France.

The Independent Commission on Research and Information on Radiocactivity (CRIIRAD) also said a growing number of French nuclear workers were complaining about worsening working conditions and their likely impact on safety.

"In less than 15 days, the CRIIRAD has been informed of four malfunctions in four nuclear plants, leading to the accidental contamination of 126 workers," CRIIRAD head Corinne Castanier told Reuters in an interview.

"This is the first time I have seen so many people being contaminated in such a short period of time."

On Wednesday alone, some 100 staff at the nuclear power plant of Tricastin in southeastern France were contaminated with low doses of radiation.

The incident followed another on July 7 at the same site, which shook public confidence in the safety of France's nuclear industry, the largest in Europe, at a time when President Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged to expand it.

The French nuclear safety body, ASN, said that in 2007, less than a 100 nuclear workers had been contaminated by radiation in France, where 80 percent of power is produced by atomic energy.

The CRIIRAD also criticised French state-owned nuclear operator EDF (EDF.PA) for saying the latest contamination incident had no impact on people's health or on the environment because the radiation doses were below the regulatory limits set by international standards.