Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said he wanted to review all security measures in the nuclear industry, carry out tests on the ground water near all reactors and assess the state of waste storage sites.

"I want to overhaul everything," he said.

The announcement Friday that a leak had occurred at one of Areva's nuclear fuel plants in France came amid public concern over a leak at an another of its facilities last week.

Authorities said the latest uranium spill, at the FBFC plant in Romans-sur-Isere in the southeastern Drome region, took place when a broken pipe had caused a radioactive leak but no environmental damage.

The first spill took place July 7 at the Tricastin nuclear plant in southern France's Vaucluse region, where residents have been told not to drink water or eat fish from nearby rivers.

During visits to the Romans and Tricastin sites, Areva chief executive Anne Lauvergeon played down the incidents but also promised to take on board "operational lessons" for the future.

"None of these incidents had an impact on the health of the personnel and the river residents, or their environment," she insisted, adding that locals would "not have noticed" had circumstances played out differently.

Environmental activists, including Greenpeace, denounced the lack of security at the nuclear power plants, dubbing the two incidents a "tragic Tour de France of nuclear accidents."

According to the ASN nuclear safety authority, the pipe defect at the FBFC plant may date back several years.

"Results from initial tests show there has been no impact at all on the environment, because the quantity of uranium was very small, in the order of a few hundred grammes," said ASN spokeswoman Evangelia Petit.

The FBFC plant produces nuclear fuel for some of France's 58 reactors -- the world's largest network after the United States -- producing 80 percent of the nation's electricity.

Areva late Thursday notified the nuclear authority of the leak and three inspectors were dispatched to the site in the early hours of Friday to assess the damage.

Petit said the spill did not reach the ground water and that there was no sign of contamination.

After Areva took several hours to notify nuclear authorities over the Tricastin spill, Borloo said he wanted to ensure that information quickly reaches the public.

The minister said that while there were "very, very tight controls" when it came to nuclear reactors, the safeguards appeared to be not as foolproof for treatment plants and other facilities.

After admitting to a safety lapse at Tricastin, Areva on Thursday replaced the director of Socatri -- the Areva subsidiary that runs that plant -- and announced an internal audit to determine what went wrong.

Swimming and water sports have also been forbidden as is irrigation of crops with the contaminated water.

The leak ranked as a level-one incident on the seven-point scale to guage the seriousness of nuclear accidents.

Last year, there were 86 level-one incidents in France, down from 114 the previous year, said Borloo.

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