SHANGHAI — The Chinese government repeatedly offers assurances that the nuclear crisis in Japan poses no radiation risk in China. Officials monitor radiation levels in the air over coastal cities daily now. And planes and ships bringing cargo and passengers from Japan are closely scanned.
But the Chinese government has not told citizens living near nuclear facilities what to do in case of a similar disaster here.
Chinese environmental campaigners, citizens on microblogs and even the normally pliant state-run media are questioning why China has no obvious emergency preparedness plan, even though many people here live less than a quarter mile from nuclear facilities.
“If there is any leaking problem, we don’t know what to do,” said a farmer surnamed Wang, whose village is 200 yards from the Qinshan nuclear facility in Zhejiang province. Like other villagers, he spoke on the condition that only his family name be used, so as not to attract local government retribution for speaking to the foreign media. “What should we do if something happens?”
China has 13 nuclear facilities in operation, at least 26 under construction and more than 100 additional facilities planned to meet its growing energy needs. With an investment of $150 billion over the next decade, China has by far the world’s most ambitious nuclear power program.
Most of the existing plants, like Qinshan — China’s first indigenously built nuclear facility — are along the country’s southeast coast, which is economically booming but far from the country’s coal mines and natural gas fields. But more plants are expected to be built farther inland, in areas more prone to earthquakes.
“If something happens, how should ordinary people deal with it? This kind of education or information is currently lacking,” said Wang Xiaojun, the communications director for Greenpeace East Asia.
On March 16, in a rare bow to the heightened public concern, the ruling State Council — China’s equivalent of a cabinet — suspended all new approvals for nuclear plants until the government could inspect existing plants and issue revised safety rules.
But Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, speaking March 30 at a climate meeting in Australia, said China’s overall nuclear goals remain unchanged.
Many here say what is urgently needed is more public awareness and input before new nuclear facilities are approved and more public education, including emergency preparedness, for those living near nuclear facilities.
Government officials from different agencies gave various accounts of whether emergency plans are in place and who was supposed to implement them. Officials even seemed to disagree on exactly how close is too close for people to live near a nuclear reactor.
Li Chuanchen, a senior engineer at a Shanghai radiation monitoring station, said China does not have specific regulations determining how close people could live to a nuclear facility. He said nuclear plant operators should work with the local government to conduct emergency drills.
Loading...
Comments