‘Imminent danger’ as Chinese power plant ‘LEAKING RADIATION but Beijing is trying to cover it up’

The Sun

OFFICIALS have warned of an “imminent danger” as a Chinese nuclear power plant is reportedly leaking radiation – but Beijing is trying to cover it up.

A French company which part owns the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province reached out to the United States for help with the leak and warned of an “imminent radiological threat”, CNN reports.

Framatome, the French company, contacted US officials on June 8 to inform them of a leaking nuclear reactor and to ask for a waiver to allow them to address the problem.

“The situation is an imminent radiological threat to the site and to the public and Framatome urgently requests permission to transfer technical data and assistance as may be necessary to return the plant to normal operation,” the letter to the US Department of Energy said, according to CNN.

According to the memo, the French company accused China of hiking up the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the Taishan plant to avoid having to shut it down.

As of May 30, the reactor had reached 90 per cent of the allegedly revised limit, the letter said.

Despite the alarming warning, the Biden administration does not believe the plant is at “crisis level” yet, a source told CNN.

For now, US officials said the situation does not pose a severe safety threat to workers at the plant or the Chinese public.

But the National Security Council held multiple meetings last week as they monitored the situation, pointing to growing concerns.

Sources told CNN two meetings were held at the deputy level and another at the assistant secretary level on Friday, led by NSC Senior Director for China, Laura Rosenberger, and Senior Director for Arms Control, Mallory Stewart.

And the Biden administration has spoken to both the French and Chinese government about the situation, according to reports.

The French company, Framatome, requested a waiver to allow it to share American technical assistance in order to resolve the issue at the Chinese plant.

But the Chinese government will ultimately decide whether the plant will need to be shut down completely due to the leak, the documents obtained by CNN reveal.

Cheryl Rofer, a nuclear scientist who retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2001, told CNN: “It is not surprising that the French would reach out.

“In general, this sort of thing is not extraordinary, particularly if they think the country they are contacting has some special ability to help.

“But China likes to project that everything is just fine, all the time.”

Rofer added: “If they do have a gas leak, that indicates some of their containment is broken. It also argues that maybe some of the fuel elements could be broken, which would be a more serious problem.

“That would be a reason for shutting down the reactor and would then require the reactor to be refuelled.”