Global Reaction

China: no immediate threat from radioactive leaks

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-22 09:14

BEIJING - China will not face any immediate threat over the next three days from radioactive leaks from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to the latest analysis on Monday.

A photographer holds a radiation detector indicating 0.20 microsieverts per hour at a devastated factory area hit by earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, northern Japan, March 20, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

At present, the accident has not had any impact on China's environment or the Chinese public' s health, said the analysis from the National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee.

Experts from the China Atomic Energy Authority agreed that the situation has become stable in the troubled nuclear power plant, which was hit by an earthquake and tsunami.

Related readings:  Tourist sector takes hit from nuclear problems  Nuclear disaster offers chance  Nuclear safety should be priority  Nuclear power standards come under scrutiny

According to the latest weather forecast at 4 pm on Sunday, which came from an emergency response center in Beijing that is affiliated with the World Meteorological Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency, China would remain unaffected by radioactive materials during the next three days.

The State Oceanic Administration detected no abnormal radiation in the seawater off the Chinese coast and announced that the waters will not be affected by radioactive fallout in the next three days as the current off the coast of Fukushima flows south slowly.

Also, air-monitoring results across the country remain normal, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the country's main force of nuclear industry development, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), told Xinhua Sunday it was conducting safety checks on the country's existing nuclear power plants, along with safety evaluations on projects under construction or for future planning.

Stressing the importance of safety, Chen Hua, assistant to the CNNC President, said more strict criteria would be used during the future development of the nuclear industry.

China has suspended the approval process for nuclear power stations so that safety standards can be revised following recent explosions at the Japanese plant, according to an executive meeting of the State Council, or the Cabinet, last week.

Further, the State Council has required government departments to perform safety checks at existing plants, according to a statement released after the meeting, which was presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The statement said all reactors in operation in China are safe.

China has six working nuclear power plants, which are located along the country's eastern and southern coasts.