FRENCH FIRM WORRIED ABOUT INERT GASES BUILD-UP IN CHINA NUKE PLANT

French power group EDF has begun an examination of a potential issue linked to a build-up of inert gases at its nuclear power station in China, though the company and its Chinese partner said the plant was operating safely, Asahi Shimbun reported.

CNN reported on Monday that the US government had spent the past week assessing a report of a leak at the Taishan power plant in Guangdong province run by a joint venture between EDF and China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN).

The US news network reported that Framatome, the EDF business that designed the plant's reactor and remains involved in its operations, had warned of an "imminent radiological threat."

EDF said the build-up of noble gases krypton and xenon, which it said had affected the primary circuit of reactor No.1 of the Taishan plant, was a "known phenomenon, studied and provided for in the reactor operating procedures."

The Taishan reactor is the first French-designed Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) to become operational. The technology is also being deployed in France, Finland and at the Hinkley Point C project in Britain. Power from the plant serves the Guangzhou and Shenzhen areas, Guangdong province's major manufacturing hubs, which have faced power shortages in recent weeks due to hot weather and lower than normal hydropower supplies from neighboring Yunnan province.

CNN said the warning by Framatome included an accusation that the Chinese safety authority was raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the Taishan plant to avoid having to shut it down. A group spokesman said this could be because of an issue with fuel rods and seals.

Measurements of inert gases were below maximum levels authorized in China, the spokesman said, adding that it was too early to say whether the reactor would have to be shut down. Krypton and xenon do not tend to react with other substances but they do have radioactive qualities and are therefore subject to constant monitoring.

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