No leak at Taishan nuclear facility: environment ministry

CNN report on increase in radiation limits denied

Monitoring of the radiation environment around the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in South China’s Guangdong Province shows that the radiation levels around the plant are normal, indicating there is no leakage at the plant, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment ( MEE) said on Wednesday, refuting CNN’s report on an alleged leak and clarifying the concerned issues.

China’s top nuclear safety regulatory hasn’t approved any increase in the acceptable radiation limits around the Taishan plant, as CNN claimed in its report, according to the ministry.

The safety of the nuclear power plant is guaranteed, the ministry said.

It revealed that the specific activity ( the amount of radioactivity contained per unit volume or weight) of the primary circuit reactor coolant in the Unit 1 plant was raised in the process of operations, but still within the range that allows for stable operations, as specified in the technical specifications for the operation.

The elevated radioactivity level in the primary circuit of Unit 1 is mainly related to the damage of fuel rods. Due to the influence of uncontrollable factors in the process of fuel manufacturing, transportation and loading, a small amount of fuel rod damage is unavoidable, and it is a common phenomenon in the operation of nuclear power units, the MEE said. Many nuclear power plants around the world have experienced similar cases of fuel rod failure but continued operation, data showed.

There are more than 60,000 fuel rods in the reactor core of Unit 1 of the Taishan plant. It is estimated that about five fuel rods have been damaged, accounting for less than 0.01 percent of the total, which is far lower than the maximum fuel assemblies damage ratio ( 0.25 percent) in the design, according to the authority.

Moreover, the MEE stressed that the elevated radioactivity level in the primary circuit of Unit 1 is totally different from a radioactive leak accident. The primary circuit is inside the reactor. As long as the reactor coolant system’s pressure boundaries and containment seals ( that act as radioactive containment barriers) meet the requirements, there is no radioactive leakage to the environment. The two physical barriers are safe now, it said.

CNN reported that the “Chinese safety authority was raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection” at the plant to avoid shutting the plant down.

The MEE refuted such claims and said that CNN used incorrect concepts in its report. China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration has not approved an increase in the acceptable radiation limits around the Taishan plant, the Chinese ministry explained. Instead, what the administration reviewed and approved were the relevant limits for the specific radioactivity of inert gases from reactor coolant in the primary circuit.