What is known about the Taishan NPP
The station is located on the coast of the South China Sea in Taishan County,
The Taishan NPP includes two power units with EPR reactors manufactured by the French company Areva, with a capacity of 1,750 MW each.
The first power unit of the Taishan NPP was commissioned in 2018, and the second in 2019. The second power unit was connected to the grid on June 23, 2019 and put into commercial operation on September 7, 2019.
The NPP uses a water-moderated nuclear reactor, which uses ordinary water as a moderator and coolant.
Construction of Taishan NPP
On August 26, 2008, excavation work began, and the first concrete for the first block was laid in October 2009.The construction of each unit was planned for 46 months, which is significantly faster and cheaper than the first two EPRs in Finland and France.
These plans turned out to be unattainable becausethe launch was repeatedly postponed. In February 2017, after 88 months of construction, CGNPC announced that completion of the reactors would be delayed until the second half of 2017 and the first half of 2018.
In December 2017, Hong Kong media reported that the boiler cracked during testing, and welding the component was deemed "problematic."Neither the operators of the plant nor the manufacturer of the affected component responded to the news agency's request for comment.Later it turned out that the boiler is a deariator that removesdissolved oxygen from water by heating.
On April 9, 2018, an official letter of approval of the initial fuel load for the first unit was published.Taishan Nuclear Power Plant is issued by the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA).
What is known about the leak at the Taishan NPP
The US government received in mid-Junethe message about the "radiological threat" at the Chinese nuclear power plant "Taishan", according to CNN, citing sources. The warning of an "imminent radiological threat" came from the French company Framatome, which partially owns and helps operate the Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong province.
Framatome filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Energy on June 8.The company's letter says that the Chinese regulator– National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) – increases the permissible limits for detecting radiation outside the territory of a nuclear power plant to prevent its closure.
According to Framatome, the NNSA has more than doubledexceeded the limits of detection of radiation outside the nuclear power plant "due to frequent malfunctions" at the plant and in order to "maintain the operation of a leaking reactor." This, as stressed in the French company, "increases the risks" for local residents and workers located on the territory of the nuclear power plant itself. Framatome has approached the United States to agree on US assistance to fix problems at Taishan.
The situation poses an imminent radiological threat to the facility and the population, and Framatome urgently requestsAuthorization for the transmission of technical data and assistance that may be required to return the station to normal operation.
Letter to Framatome
According to the TV channel, in the letter, Framatome said that the Chinese regulator had raised the limits of radiation detection outside the nuclear power plant in order to avoid the closure of the facility.
What the Chinese authorities said
The Chinese authorities informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the incident at the Taishan nuclear power plant did not result in the release of radiation.
In the first power unit of the nuclear power plant, there was recently a slight damage to the shell of the fuel elements, which led to an increase in radioactivity in the primary circuit of the reactor, the report said.The Atomic Energy Administration of China (SAEA) said that this situation, as a common phenomenon in the operation of nuclear power plants, is being dealt with in accordance with accepted standards and procedures.
Agency message
It is also noted that performance indicatorsthe power unit, including the radioactivity of the primary coolant, remain within normal conditions and technical characteristics, while the pressure boundary in the coolant system of the reactor unit is not damaged and the integrity of the containment shell is preserved.
Concerns about the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant Leak
Framatome said that if the reactor were in France, the company would have already shut it down because of "proceduresand practices in terms of the operation of nuclear power plants in the country."
A spokesperson for Framatome did not directly call on China to stop work at the plant, as it should only be a joint decision.
Despite this, the company accused the Chinese safety administration of raising the permissible limits for detecting radiation outside the plant to avoid the need to shut it down.
On Thursday, July 22, a spokesman for Electricite de France confirmed an increase in the noble gas content in the reactor.
We explained all the elements on which EDF carried out the analysis, and also explained all the reasons why we would shut down the reactor in France.
Representative of Electricite de France
According to a spokesperson, EDF would have shut down the reactor to avoid further destruction of the fuel rods, and would also have conducted an investigation to avoid further damage to the industrial facility.
But the final decision rests with representatives in China, who intend to conduct their own analysis.
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