- Béryl incident
The "Béryl incident" was a French
nuclear test , conducted onMay 1 1962, during which nine soldiers of the 621st Groupe d'Armes Spéciales unit were heavily contaminated byradiation . [ [http://www.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/60823/571529/file/SAHARA.pdf Dossier de présentation des essais nucléaires et leur suivi au Sahara] ] The test took place atIn Ekker ,Algeria , then a Frenchcolony , and was designed as an underground shaft test. [ [http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/France/FranceOrigin.html France's Nuclear Weapons] ] Due to improper sealing of the shaft, radioactive rock and dust were released into the atmosphere. The soldiers were exposed to as much as 600 mSv. As many as 100 additional personnel were exposed to lower levels of radiation, estimated at about 50 mSv, when theradioactive cloud produced by the blast passed over the command post, due to an unexpected change in wind direction. Among those exposed were several French government officials, including French Defence MinisterPierre Messmer andGaston Palewski .The incident was documented in the 2006 docudrama "Vive La Bombe!" [ [http://www.ecovisionfestival.com/edizione2007//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=337&Itemid=168&lang=english VIVE LA BOMBE!] ]
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