Focus on Arts and Ecology

 The big environmental stories in the Chinese media (11-17 June)

China's National Nuclear Safety Administration denied allegations that there was an “imminent radiological threat” at the Taishan nuclear power station, saying that although radiation levels in the primary circuit at the plant's Unit 1 reactor increased during its operation, those levels were within safety limits.

Framatome, the subsidiary of Électricité de France that partly owns and operates China's Taishan nuclear power station, warned about the threat in a CNN report on Monday. The company said that China's nuclear safety authority had raised the limits for radiation detection to avoid having to shut down the power station. 

The increase in radiation levels was caused by an accident that damaged the cladding of the fuel rods at the unit. Chinese authorities estimated that only around five of more than 60,000 of the fuel rods had been damaged, accounting for less than 0.01% of the fuel rods. This remains well below the 0.25% standard, which is not rare for nuclear power stations globally, the authorities said.  

The Guangdong and Hongkong authorities also said the radiation level in the environment was within the normal range in the past year. Li Ning, a US-based Chinese nuclear scientist, told Reuters it was unrealistic to expect "zero failure" in nuclear power stations fuel cladding.  

This is not the first accident at the Taishan power station this year. In March, inspectors accidentally caused an electrical fault when inspecting a voltmeter at the Unit 1 reactor, triggering an automatic shutdown. China’s authorities said there have been no incidents that would affect the environment and public health.

With 49 nuclear reactors in operation and the capacity to produce 51 GW of nuclear power, China is the third-largest global producer after the US and France. The country has slowed down new installations after Fukushima and the process of new installations did not pick up significantly after China pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, with installation targets in the 14th Five-Year-Plan (FYP) lowered compared to the 13th FYP.

(Sources: China Dialogue)