nuclear-news

China nuclear plant delay raises safety concern South China Morning Post, 07 October, 2013,   Eric Ngeric.mpng@scmp.com     The world’s first AP1000 third-generation nuclear power plant being built in Sanmen, Zhejiang province, has fallen behind schedule, and questions are being raised over its safety standards.

Industry veteran Li Yulun said the plant’s developer, China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC), and its United States technology partner Westinghouse should be more transparent about how mainland reactors would be built according to the most advanced safety standards.

“Our state leaders have put a high priority on [nuclear safety] but companies executing projects do not seem to have the same level of understanding,” Li, a former vice-president of CNNC, said on the sidelines of a recent clean energy conference in Macau.

The State Council in October last year decided to resume “normal” construction of nuclear power plants, ending a 19-month suspension of new project approvals amid a thorough safety review of all operating projects and those under construction or being planned following the earthquake-nuclear disaster in Japan in March 2011.

Beijing also scaled back expansion of new plants before the end of 2015 and allowed only a small number of “well-proven” projects in coastal regions……..http://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1325973/china-nuclear-plant-delay-raises-safety-concern