French partner of Chinese nuclear plant flags possible radiation leak to US government

With global focus currently on the COVID-19 pandemic and the battle against it, a French company has rung alarm bells over a possible 'leak' from a nuclear plant in South-East Asia, in a territory under China's control. The Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Hong Kong, jointly owned by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group and France's Framotome, is suspected to have suffered a potential radioactive leak. While China has maintained complete silence on the matter, the French partner managing the nuclear plant has apparently sought help from the United States to bring the matter under control. 

Framatome has admitted that it is dealing with a performance issue at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in China's Guangdong province. In a statement issued by the French firm on June 14, it said that it is working with relevant experts to 'assess the situation' and propose solutions to address any potential issue. Considering the widespread effects that a possible leak of nuclear radiation could have, the silence by the Chinese firm and the surrounding lack of clarity on the issue has raised alarm. 

China silent on potential nuclear leak even as France seeks US help

As per the Hong Kong Observatory, radiation levels in Hong Kong i.e. 135 kilometres (85 miles) from the Taishan plant, were normal on Monday. 170 mSv of nuclear radiation in a week is deemed to be provisionally safe for humans whereas 880 mSv is provisionally safe for one month. It is unclear what the radiation levels at the plant are.

However, the Taishan Plant in a statement on Sunday said that the continuous monitoring of environmental data showed that its surroundings are normal, indicating that any nuclear radiation had not contaminated the environmental surroundings so far. It did not refer to any problems, and said, “All operating indicators of the two units have met the requirements of nuclear safety regulations and power plant technical specifications.”

US in touch with France, China over possible nuclear radiation leak

The incident had been brought to light by a CNN report which claimed that the French company, which partly operates the nuclear power plant, had reached out to the US government warning of an 'imminent radiological threat'. Following the French company's red alert, the US Government's Department of Energy began assessing the situation and concluded that the facility is not yet at a 'crisis level'. The warning relayed by the French firm, however, indicated that China was raising the safety limits for nuclear radiation outside the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant to avoid a shut down of the plant. 

CNN has reported that the Joe Biden-led administration believes the situation does not threaten the safety of the workers at the plant or the civil Chinese public. However, it is pertinent to point out that it is unusual for a foreign company to reach out to the US government - who has no stakes in the nuclear plant - and bring the possible nuclear leak to attention. As per CNN, the National Security Council of the US government has held marathon meetings over the last week deliberating and monitoring the situation. Moreover, Joe Biden's administration had also reached out to the French government over the situation while the US President is at his first foreign tour since he assumed power in January. As per CNN, the US is also in contact with Xi Jinping's government in China. 

The incident comes with China's recent expansion of nuclear provisions in the backdrop. As per China Nuclear Energy Association, there were 16 operational nuclear plants with 49 nuclear reactors in China as of March 2021, generating a total output of 51,000 megawatts. The Taishan plant was built after China signed a nuclear electricity generation agreement with Électricité de France, which is mainly owned by the French government. The construction of the plant started in 2009, and the two units started generating electricity in 2018 and 2019, respectively.