Operators of Guangdong reactor that uses controversial European technology say plant is operating normally despite potential safety issue
(AF) French power group Électricité de France (EDF) is investigating a potential safety issue at its nuclear power station in southern China, though the company said the plant was operating safely.
CNN reported on Monday that the US government had spent the past week assessing a report of a leak at the Taishan power plant in Guangdong province run by a joint venture between EDF and China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN).
Framatome, the EDF unit that designed the plant’s reactor and remains involved in its operations, had warned of an “imminent radiological threat”.
Taishan is the first nuclear plant in the world to operate a Franco-German technology that had been haunted by delays and cost overruns for two decades.
EDF said the build-up of krypton and xenon, which it said had affected the primary circuit of reactor No.1 of the Taishan plant, was a “known phenomenon, studied and provided for in the reactor operating procedures”.
A group spokesman said this could be because of an issue with fuel rods and seals.
Krypton and xenon are inert gases and do not tend to react with other substances, but they do have radioactive qualities and subject to constant monitoring.
EDF has called for an extraordinary board meeting with CGN to go over the findings, though no date has yet been set. Framatome said it was supporting efforts to resolve the situation.
In a statement posted on its website on Sunday night, the Taishan plant said its two reactors were operating normally. “The [plant’s] environmental indicators and its surroundings are normal,” the operator said.
Taishan, located about 144km west of Hong Kong, is 70% owned by CGN, with the remainder held by EDF.
With reporting by Reuters
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