Nine nuclear incidents occurred in Belgium in 2017, data from the Federal Nuclear Control Agency, AFCN, showed on Tuesday. While this number was much lower than the previous year, one incident was above the lowest level on the INES scale, for the first time since 2015.
The International Nuclear Events Scale (INES) has seven levels, Level 1 being the lowest.
In 2016 there were 15 nuclear incidents in Belgium, all on Level 1. While there were fewer incidents this year, one of these was on Level 2.
That incident took place in July, during the transport of poorly packaged radioactive material that had been sent on passenger flights from Cairo to Brussels via Zurich. Many passengers, including one Belgian, were potentially exposed to radiation above the prescribed limit, but without any significant consequences for their health.
One of the Level 1 incidents was at the Doel plant where a deterioration of the concrete was observed in October.
The Brussels Times
