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EDF, the French state financial services company, said it wanted to hold an extraordinary board meeting of its joint venture nuclear power plant in southern China following a report on a possible radiation leak.
In a statement on Monday, EDF said it had been “informed of the increase in the concentration of certain noble gases” in the first reactor at the Taishan nuclear power plant, which is majority owned by China General Nuclear Power Corp. Noble gases they are inert gases, such as helium, xenon, and radon.
He added that these increases were “a phenomenon known, studied and anticipated in the reactor’s operating procedures,” but said he called for the extraordinary board to meet to review all available data.
In a statement posted on its website Sunday night, the Taishan nuclear power plant said its two reactors were operating normally. “He [plant’s] environmental indicators and their environment are normal, ”the plant said.
He added that the plant’s second reactor had recently completed a scheduled overhaul and that it had reconnected to the power grid on June 10th.
Taishan is 70% owned by CGN, and the rest is owned by EDF. It is the first nuclear power plant in the world to operate a European pressure reactor, a Franco-German technology that had been plagued by delays and extra costs for two decades.
The first reactor at the Taishan plant began commercial operations in December 2018, with its second reactor in operation in September 2019.
Taishan, 1 m in population, is located about 75 km west of the Pearl River Delta, the most densely populated part of southern Guangdong Province. Hong Kong is about 140 km from the power plant.
CGN and EDF are also collaborating on an EPR nuclear plant in the UK, which is under construction at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
Citing unidentified sources and documents, CNN reported Monday that the EDF Framatome unit had recently informed the U.S. government of a potential “imminent radiological threat to the site and the public.”
“Framatome is supporting the resolution of a performance issue with the Taishan nuclear power plant,” Framatome said in a statement Monday, adding that “according to available data, the plant operates within safety parameters. “.
The French government is following the situation, according to officials.
CNN said President Joe Biden’s National Security Council was overseeing the situation, but still did not believe a “crisis level” had been reached.
CGN declined to comment. The Taishan municipal government and the National Nuclear Safety Administration of China were not immediately available for comment this Monday, a Chinese holiday.
Nuclear power is central to President Xi Jinping’s ambitions environmental objectives, which include achieving net carbon dioxide emissions by 2060.
There are about 50 nuclear reactors operating in China, which account for about 5% of total power generation.
Additional Qianer Liu reports in Shenzhen
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