Both the manager and the head of radiological safety at the Asco I plant in the province of Tarragona, had been fired, said a statement from Asco-Vandellos Nuclear Association.

Their replacements had been tasked with investigating the incident, which happened on November 26, 2007.

On Tuesday, the CSN, Spain's nuclear safety body, accused the power company Endesa, which owns the plant, of playing down the importance of the leak and warned of unspecified sanctions.

The plant's managers discovered the leak on March 14 and notified the CSN on April 4. During a subsequent inspection on April 5 and 7, the CSN said the incident was more serious than they had first indicated.

Endesa is to carry out tests for radiation on more than 700 people who have been in or near the plant since the incident.

But the CSN said there appeared to be little danger to the local population or the staff at the nuclear plant, one of seven in Spain.

The body decided to reclassify the incident from level one to level two on the seven-tier international scale of nuclear incidents.

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