Don’t look now, but the model nation for peaceful nuclear power just had a spot of trouble.

Nearly 8,000 gallons of radioactive waste spilled from the Tricastin nuclear site on Wednesday, forcing the closure of two French rivers for fishing and bathing, and threatening people and the environment. The timing, right after the Energy Department said it would seek proposals for new nuclear plants worthy of federal loan guarantees, could have been better.

“This spill should knock down the myth that France ’s dependence on nuclear power is a role model for the U.S. to follow,” said Erich Pica of Friends of the Earth.

Speaking of timing, the Government Accountability Office issued a report on the $38.5 billion in federal loan guarantees lawmakers approved early this year. The GAO recommended that Congress limit the size of the program (PDF) because the Energy Department isn't ready to assess risk of defaults and protect taxpayer interests. The GAO said that “Risks inherent to the [loan guarantee program] will make it difficult for DOE to estimate subsidy costs with a reasonable degree of accuracy…” It criticized the Energy Department for considering non-cash assets, such as land, as equity if contributed to the project by developers. It also said that the Energy Department’s decision to lend as much as 100 percent of the project costs diminished the incentives project owners might have if they were on the hook for part of the project cost.