Monday 22 November 2010

China nuclear plant workers exposed to radiation, South China Post reports

www.bloomberg.com
Nov 16, 2010

Daya Bay nuclear power station workers in southern China were exposed to radiation equivalent to two chest X-rays after a leak at the plant, the South China Morning Post reported, citing an official from one of the plant's partners. The leak was caused by a fault in a pipe carrying hot water from a reactor, the English-language daily reported Chan Siu-hung, managing director of the Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Co., as saying.

The incident on Oct. 23 was classified a "level one" incident, on a scale of one to seven set by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Morning Post said. Level seven is the most serious category. The leak was contained in a sealed building, according to the report. Part of the electricity produced at Daya Bay supplies power to Hong Kong.

A small leak from a fuel rod at Daya Bay was contained on May 23 and there was no change in radioactive levels in neighboring areas, according to the plant's operator. The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station is 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui district.

The facility has been in commercial operation since 1994 and generates 10 billionkW-hours of electricity a year to Hong Kong and Guangdong province, according to the website of the Hong Kong Nuclear Investment, a unit of CLP Group Ltd, that owns 25% of the plant. State-owned Guangdong Nuclear Investment Co, owns the remaining 75 percent.

Calls made to CLP Group's Hong Kong office before office hours this morning went unanswered.

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