Explosion kills at least one at a nuclear plant in southern France

At least one person was killed and four injured when a furnace exploded Monday at the Marcoule nuclear waste treatment site in southern France. Authorites say there was no radioactive leakage to the outside.

Evangelia Petit of the Agency for Nuclear Safety confirmed the explosion but declined to provide further details, according to the Associated Press.

The Marcoule nuclear plant is located in Langedoc Roussillon, in southern France, near the Mediterranean Sea.

The site of the blast does not reportedly contain any nuclear reactors. The ANS said that the furnace that exploded is used to break down waste that contains varying levels of radioactivity.

The cause of the blast was not known.

France is considered to be the world’s most nuclear-dependent country, even though the controversial energy source has its critics there. The country is in the process of reviewing its facilities as a safety precaution in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan earlier this year.

Reuters contributed to this report.