In southern China, a gas leak in a nuclear power plant was detected and then confirmed by two French companies working there, EDF and Framatome.
The Taishan power station is one of the most powerful in the world.
And the latest radiation levels measured in the atmosphere are rather worrying.
There are many questions in China after the possible gas leak at the Taishan nuclear power plant in the south of the country.
This latest generation EPR type installation was built with the help of EDF.
The French company confirmed Monday that it had been informed of an increase in the concentration of certain rare gases and therefore requests a meeting with its Chinese partner.
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Standards three times higher in China than in France
For the Chinese authorities, the measured radioactivity is not "abnormal".
On site, the leak was confirmed by EDF and Framatome, the French partners who operate this plant in partnership with China.
The Taishan EPR nuclear power plant is under surveillance for a sealing problem at the heart of a reactor, but the gas releases into the air thus generated are within the authorized limits, assured Monday EDF and the Chinese operator CGN.
Radiation levels in the atmosphere remain within Chinese standards.
The latter being… Three times higher than French standards!
Chinese regulators have even raised the acceptable threshold for radiation in order to avoid having to shut down this reactor.
A huge infrastructure
It must be said that Taishan is a centerpiece. These two EPR reactors are the most powerful in the world and supply electricity to an area the size of Great Britain, but twice as populated. The site covers more than 400 hectares. The work lasted 11 years and mobilized up to 15,000 workers. Construction was therefore much faster than on the French and Finnish EPR sites: this first reactor opened at the end of 2018 and the second was connected to the grid last week.