Safer Nuclear Energy

China Financial Weekly March 6

As China’s nuclear industry develops rapidly, ensuring its safety has become a daunting task. China will have about 88 million kilowatts of nuclear energy facilities in operation or under construction by 2020. The government has made multiple efforts to form a national nuclear emergency response system in recent years.

For instance, the latest version of the National Nuclear Emergency Plan, which lays out nuclear emergency preparations and response in the form of a governmental decision, was implemented in 2013. A national nuclear emergency response team consisting of 320 professionals designed to handle serious nuclear accidents and take part in overseas operations is expected to be formed by the end of 2018. Meanwhile, China will formulate a nuclear safety law this year. A nationwide radiation monitoring network will be built to publish radiation data in a timely manner.

However, in spite of these measures, the public still has concerns over the safety of nuclear plants. In order to ease their concerns, the National Nuclear Safety Administration has made information regarding nuclear energy available through its