Radiation Leak at China's Taishan Nuclear Plant

Radiation Leak at China's Taishan Nuclear Plant

TAISHAN, CHINA — There is an 'imminent radiological threat' at Taishan nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province, CNN reports, citing a memo from French company Framatome[j], which part-owns and operates the plant.

Documents sent to U.S. officials by the company have also accused China's National Nuclear Safety Administration of raising its own acceptable limits for radiation leaks into the surrounding area to avoid the plant being shut down.

In a separate statement, Framatome[k]'s parent-company, EDF, explained there had been an increase in the concentration of Xenon and Krypton gases in the primary circuit of reactor No.

1 at Taishan, according to Reuters.

These elements have radioactive qualities.

According to CNN, EDF described production of these gases as a 'known phenomenon,' caused by a 'degradation of the housing of the fuel rods.'

They added that this housing is the first of three barriers between the rods and the outside.

Taishan is the first plant in the world to operate a next-generation EPR nuclear reactor, a design that has been subject to years of delays elsewhere, according to The Guardian.

A 2018 report by Factwire detailed an array of problems at the site, including a defective reactor vessel head.