nuclear-news

China’s nuclear power program slows down, as safety problems recognised

China Nuclear Report Acknowledges Safety Concerns, WSJ,  By BRIAN SPEGELE And WAYNE MA  16 Oct 12, BEIJING — A report by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection
acknowledged safety concerns in China’s fleet of nuclear reactors, including potential complications from the sheer variety of reactors in operation….

.. The report, published on the ministry’s website on
Tuesday, acknowledged what nuclear experts have long argued: The
relative variety of reactor models being used in China today makes
nationwide safety standards and emergency-response mechanisms more
complicated.

“The current [nuclear] safety situation isn’t optimistic,” the report said.

“China has multiple types of nuclear reactors, multiple technologies
and multiple standards of safety, which makes them hard to manage,” it
said, adding that the operation and construction of nuclear reactors
must improve…….
It remains unclear, however, when authorities will issue a highly
anticipated report expected to detail China’s post-Fukushima nuclear
development plans or when approvals might restart.

The Environment Ministry also said there were problems involved with
uranium mining and that monitoring radiation was a challenge, though
it didn’t offer details.

Acknowledging safety concerns at China’s nuclear facilities appears to
be part of an effort by Beijing to build trust with a public that
remains deeply nervous about nuclear power. ….
China’s government hopes that by 2015 it can dramatically reduce the
risks posed by nuclear power and that its nuclear safety will reach
international standards by 2020, the report said.

In its report, the ministry recommended phasing out older nuclear
reactors sooner, sharing and improving access to information,
enhancing the research and development of nuclear safety and improving
the handling of radioactive waste.

“The lessons learned from Fukushima are very profound,” the ministry
said. “We need to enhance our understanding of the importance of
nuclear safety and increase the level of safety by improving
emergency-response mechanisms.”

“At the same time, government departments in charge of nuclear-safety
monitoring should work more independently, authoritatively and
effectively,” it said.

Before Fukushima, China had planned to build dozens of older-model
CPR-1000 reactors, based on French technology, which lack some of the
safety features incorporated in newer technology. Older reactors, in
particular, don’t have the passive safety systems that might have
helped prevent the Fukushima accident in Japan…….Before Fukushima
it had planned to expand its nuclear-power generating capacity to 40
gigawatts by 2015 and 80 gigawatts by 2020, though analysts believe
those targets are now somewhat smaller as a result of the
Fukushima-related delay in new project approvals. China has around 15
nuclear reactors in service, which together have a net capacity of
around 11.9 gigawatts.

October 17, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, safety