Level 0 incident recorded at Ling Ao Nuclear Plant

Guangdong provincial authorities have reported that a Level 0 incident has occurred at the Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant in Shenzhen.

The incident report noted that, during a regular inspection on September 17, an emergency diesel generator was unexpectedly activated. 

Mainland authorities noted that the incident did not affect the operations of the facility, nor result in any harm to the health of the staff or the surrounding residents and environment.

The emergency diesel engine that unpredictably activated has the main function of supplying emergency power supply during a “hot standby” state, a mode of operation of the reactor that is activated when it is necessary to cool down the reactor.

After the event, operators carried out the inspection operation, having verified that the diesel generator and the emergency power supply system were in a normal condition. Operators stopped the diesel generator and restored it to its initial state.

According to the International Scale of Nuclear Accidents (INES) and the regulations on nuclear safety, the present occurrence was classified as a level 0 operational incident.

INES classifies nuclear incidents in levels from 1 to 7, with level 0 considered as a deviation that is not included in the INES and serves essentially for the correction of deviations and feedback of experiences. 

The Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant is located on the Dapeng Peninsula in Longgang District, Shenzhen, about 60 km north of Hong Kong.