Posted on 06/16/2021 2:35:28 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
A Chinese nuclear power station is leaking radioactive gas and could become a major disaster, according to secret US intelligence reports.
Taishan Nuclear Power Plant, located in southern Guangdong province, is thought to have been leaking for at least two weeks after a French firm that co-owns the facility flagged the issue to Washington.
Cover up!
American agents have spent the last week monitoring the situation and have concluded it has the potential turn into a major disaster but that facility is not currently at ‘crisis level’.
That is in stark contrast to the message being put out by the power plant’s Chinese state owners, who insisted in a report published Sunday that everything is ‘normal’.
Fission gas leak Problems at the power plant first came to light in late May when French firm Framatome reached out to US intelligence agencies to alert them of it, according to documents sent to the Department of Energy and seen by CNN.
A follow-up memo sent on June 3 identified the issue as a ‘fission gas leak’ and asked for the DoE to share intelligence that might help solve the issue.
Fission gas is a radioactive biproduct of nuclear fission, where heavy atoms are split into lighter ones – a process which releases energy but also creates the waste gas.
Framatome apparently got no response and so sent another memo on June 8 asking for their message to be urgently reviewed.
In that note, they described the problem as ‘an imminent radiological threat to the site’ and warned that Chinese regulators had increased the ‘safe’ levels of radioactivity allowed around the plant.
Increasing the ‘safe’ limit means China has been able to keep the plant running instead of shutting it down to resolve the issue.
Framatome claimed China more-than doubled the limit, and that the new limit exceeds the current safety standards in France.
The June 8 memo was picked up by the US State Department, setting off a flurry of activity over the last week that included meetings of senior figures on the National Security Council to assess the threat.
They concluded that while the plant could turn into a major disaster, they believe it is not in immediate danger of becoming one and it is more likely the issue will be resolved without seriously endangering the public.
Meanwhile French energy giant EDF also put out a statement on Monday, saying there has been an increase in noble gases detected in the plant’s cooling system.
Noble gases are one of the biproducts of nuclear fission, and their presence in the cooling system may indicate a leak in the reactor.
The operator of the power station, state-owned China General Nuclear Power Group, said in a statement on Sunday evening that ‘the environmental indicators of Taishan Nuclear Power Plant and its surroundings are normal’.
Powered up in 2018, the Taishan plant was the first worldwide to operate a next-generation EPR nuclear reactor, a pressurised water design that has been subject to years of delays in similar European projects in Britain, France and Finland.
EPR reactors have been touted as promising advances in safety and efficiency over conventional reactors while producing less waste.
The plant’s state owners said one of the two reactors on site then completed an ‘overhaul’ and ‘successfully connected to the grid on June 10, 2021.’
Nothing to see here. Move along now.
Typical substandard commie facilities. Just like their airplanes, ships and missiles. Massive failure rates.
But, but...China says there is no leak...no problem at all.
Bamboo pipes ?
First a bioengineered virus and then a nuclear cloud...what’s next?
I find it curious that I’ve seen no technical explanation of what the exact problem is. Has anyone seen an article explaining what the real issue is and why the French company is asking the US for an export license?
An export license means we gave or sold technology to France but it requires the US’ okay, an export license, to give the technology to anyone else. This means the tech can either be used to make weapons directly or has some dual use capability where it can solve a civilian problem but also can be used to facilitate weapons production.
100 miles or so up wind from Hong Kong.
That's the way these things always start, isn't it?
Message from the Titanic: Minor collision, possible water leaks
From Hindenberg:We might be experiencing some unwanted combustion
From Chernobyl: The good news is, we have record power levels...
200 miles from Hong Kong.
Interesting coinkydink.
I saw an article this morning that the Chinese said it was the cladding on 6 fuel rods in the bundle of 60,000. Said it was damaged prior to insertion into the reactor and was normal.
I thought originally they said they were releasing gas, or was it just from some heavy Hunan food??
Nothing to see here until one sees a mysterious turtle looking gargantuan monster rising from the water.
So it’s leaking xenon? That’s quite a bit heavier than air, so this could be a problem in China, but unless the rest of the reactor starts to melt, is this a problem for anyone else?
Nothing to see here. Move oolong
Nothing BidAn wont fix once he is back home. Although, he might delegate the leak issue to Caballa.
Thanks for the link!
Interesting.
Interesting perspective. So this could all be staged to circumvent the export restrictions on technology that the Chinese want for their weapons program?
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