A spokesman for the Ascó I nuclear facility, Eugeni Vives, announced yesterday that the 44 students, three teachers and the driver of the coach that took the party to the power station for a school visit on April 4th, have all tested negative for radiation poisoning.

The radioactive leak, that was later found to be significantly more serious than initially claimed, occurred some time last November. The same spokesman also confirmed that 35 other students from a second local school will be tested today.

In a separate development, radioactive particles from the plant have been detected at a scrapmetal yard in Reus (Tarragona) that have been traced to a delivery lorry.

According to the National Nuclear Commission, which met to discuss the crisis yesterday, this mean that around 1,600 people will have to be tested for radiation sickness, roughly twice as many as first estimates.

While the company faces fines of up to €20 million euros for their handling of the leak, a spokesman from the Greenpeace environmental organisation has confirmed that criminal proceedings have been initiated.