The Chinese government has acknowledged for the first time that one of the country’s nuclear power plants is experiencing technical problems. Beijing said five fuel rods from the Taishan plant in southern Guangdong province were damaged but no radioactivity was leaked.
The Chinese were forced to respond to a report by news channel CNN. That reported Monday that the US government has been investigating reports of a leak in one of the reactors at the plant. The French company Framatome, which co-owns the Taishan plant, is said to have warned the Americans of an “imminent radiological threat”.
Increased radiation level
Framatome is also said to have reported that the Chinese nuclear regulator had increased radiation limits for the area around the plant to avoid closure. That is not correct, says the Chinese nuclear watchdog today.
According to the Chinese Ministry of the Environment, an increased radiation level has been measured in one of the nuclear reactors, but this is within the safety margins. The increase was caused by 5 of the more than 60,000 fuel rods being damaged, not uncommon during production, transportation or loading of the fuel, according to the ministry.
“Measurements in the vicinity of the power station have not yielded any abnormal values,” the ministry said. “That means there has been no leakage.”
The Environment Ministry says it will keep a close eye on the situation in Taishan. The Chinese will also keep the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA and the French nuclear regulator informed.
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