China’s nuke plants operate normally, in line with intl standards
The Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Taishan, South China’s Guangdong Province meets technical requirements, and no abnormal radioactive indicators have been recorded, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, in response to a US media report warning of an “imminent radioactive threat.”
The US government was assessing a report of a leak at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant. The report was made by Framatome, a subsidiary of French energy giant Électricité de France ( EDF), in which the French company warned of an “imminent radioactive threat” at the plant, CNN said Monday.
“China’s nuclear power plants have maintained a good operating record and no incidents affecting the environment or public health have occurred,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Tuesday.
Observers criticized CNN for scrambling for innuendo to raise concerns over nuclear power security in China via selective reporting. In its report, CNN said that Framatome contacted the US government to obtain a waiver to share US technical assistance in resolving the issue at the Chinese nuclear power plant, but it didn’t mention why or elaborate what the issue exactly was.
The Taishan plant is a joint venture between EDF and the China General Nuclear Power Group ( CGN). However, CNN didn’t mention that CGN is on a US “entity list” that prohibits US technology or data from being transferred to the group.
In October 2018, the US set out a number of restrictions on civil nuclear energy cooperation with China and forbids any nuclear power- related exports to CGN, including technologies, equipment and parts as well as materials.
David Fishman, a researcher in China’s energy field and energy regulation, said in his tweets on Monday that what Framatome is applying for is a relevant waiver for reasons of “operational safety.”
Fishman said Framatome is likely applying for two reasons: The information they are preparing to transfer originated in the US, or they don’t want to impact their business in the US by doing work with CGN without full transparency, or “probably both.”