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Print Edition> Business
UPDATED: April 18, 2011 NO. 16 APRIL 21, 2011
Ensuring Nuclear Safety
The Fukushima accident precipitates overall safety inspection by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corp.
By WANG JUN
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SELF-DEVELOPED: The first gigawatt-level nuclear steam generator using China-developed technologies, CPR1000, was completed and transported to CGN's Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant for the phase II project on June 6, 2008 (XIAO SISI)  

The Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan had barely made headlines around the world when China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corp. (CGNPC), a nuclear power magnate in China, organized an urgent nuclear power safety inspection on March 13, assessing the group's nuclear power plants currently in operation or under construction.

CGNPC said its inspection focused on the safety facilities at each plant in operation, backup electric power sources, water sources and other emergency facilities.

He Yu, President of CGNPC, said every one of the corporation departments should use Fukushima as an example of what can go wrong following a natural disaster and how to act, to strengthen their own nuclear power plants at facilities under construction.

New requirements stipulate that safety inspections be carried out at all of the corporation's nuclear power plants and projects, said Zhang Shanming, General Manager of CGNPC. The corporation will also improve regular spot inspections and safety inspections and establish a daily processing and tracking system to avoid severe accidents.

So far, CGNPC has set up six inspection groups to check on its nuclear power facilities.

At Dayawan Nuclear Power Plant and Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant phase I, the inspections will mainly focus on safety standards and the response system in place should an earthquake, tsunami or other catastrophic event happen. Fire controls, radiation prevention and other protective measures will also be analyzed.

For facilities under construction, the focus will be on checking earthquake resistance standards, safety mechanisms and the possibility of extreme natural disasters occurring in the plant's immediate vicinity.

For those planned nuclear plant sites, CGNPC will implement safety reappraisals of the highest standard.

The Dayawan Nuclear Power Plant and Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant phase I have been operating safely since they began commercial operation. Through various upgrades, their operational performance has been among the best in the world.

Based on non-Chinese-developed technologies of gigawatt-level nuclear power generating units, CGNPC has developed its own improved technologies of pressurized water reactors, the CPR1000.

The Pre-Operational Safety Assessment Review Team mission assigned by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant phase I drew the conclusion that "most of the performance indicators of Ling'ao phase I are comparable to the latest IAEA International Safety Codes, and Ling'ao phase I's achievements to date will be a valuable reference for the global nuclear power industry."

Established in 1994 with a registered capital of 10.2 billion yuan ($1.55 billion), CGNPC is a clean energy enterprise under the auspices of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. By the end of January 2011, the corporation had total assets of 202.5 billion yuan ($30.96 billion) and net assets of 62.7 billion yuan ($9.59 billion).

CGNPC now has five generating units in operation at three nuclear power plants in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, with a total capacity of 5.02 million kilowatts. The five generating units include two at the Dayawan Nuclear Power Plant, two at the Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant phase I, and one at Ling'ao phase II, which came into operation in September 2010.

In 2010, CGNPC's generating units produced more than 30 million kilowatt hours (kwh) of electricity, with15.02 billion kwh from the Dayawan plant, 15.22 billion kwh from Ling'ao phase I, and 1.63 billion kwh from Ling'ao phase II.

CGNPC wants to turn itself into a world-class clean energy corporation. To date, it has the largest number of nuclear power generating units under construction in the world. CGNPC's 16 generating units under construction include the No.2 generating unit of Ling'ao phase II, which is expected to come into commercial operation later this year, and others in Hongyanhe of Liaoning Province, Ningde of Fujian Province, Yangjiang and Taishan of Guangdong Province and Fangchenggang of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.



 
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