A local delegation visited the controversial Taishan nuclear plant last week in order to check the safety of the infrastructure. The power plant is located 67 kilometers from Macau and 130 kilometers from Hong Kong, and is still under construction.
The head of the Security Forces Coordination Office, Choi Lai Hang, led the local delegation, and heard representatives of the Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Co. explain that Macau would not require protective measures such as evacuation of the city even in the event of a very serious nuclear incident (level 7) at the Taishan nuclear power plant. According to the technical explanations, only locations within 20 kilometers of the plant would need to be evacuated in the event of a level 7 incident and emergency procedures have been set in place.
The Taishan nuclear plant representatives also said that at present, no incidents higher than a level 2 has ever occurred in Chinese nuclear plants, which, according to them, demonstrates that they work under safety precautions.
A mechanism to exchange information between a nuclear crisis management cabinet operating in the neighboring province of Guangdong and Macau is also expected to be established soon. According to a statement issued by an interdepartmental group for nuclear safety set up in Macau, it is expected that more visits “open to representatives of different sectors of society” will be organized after the cooperation mechanism is introduced.
Recently, the Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture – which results from a partnership between China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN) and the French energy group Électricité de France (EDF) – has been urged to disclose any safety risks relating to the project, after it was recently disclosed that the company has not been forthcoming over the origin of some operational components.
Safety concerns were raised earlier this year after components of the nuclear plant were discovered to have been manufactured in mainland China, and not in France as previously thought.
The revelations were followed by appeasing statements by local authorities, with Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, stating that there is no cause for concern. PB
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