A rock face in an underground laboratory collapsed today while the technicians were conducting tests, according to a statement from Andra, the state radioactive waste management agency.
It said the laboratory at the site in Bure in northeast France was evacuated, and emergency workers are on site. An investigation is underway by the regional prosecutor, and labor inspectors are also heading to the site.
Heavily dependent on nuclear energy, France has been working for years to test the rock and prepare the site at Bure to hold radioactive waste.