Framatome took the highly unusual step of warning the U.S. government about an “imminent radiological threat” from the plant, located in Guangdong province near Hong Kong.
Framatome and its parent company EDF said on Monday that according to available data, “the plant is operating within safety parameters,” but a troubling “increase in the concentration of certain noble gases” was detected in the primary circuit of the cooling system at one of the plant’s two nuclear reactors.
CGN said on Sunday that both reactors at the plant are “operating according to nuclear safety rules and regulations,” and conditions in the surrounding environment “meet normal parameters.” Both CGN and the Chinese government resisted making any comments about the plant until persistent media inquiries prompted Sunday’s brief statement.
Framatome’s alleged message to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last week was somewhat more alarming than the statements released on Sunday and Monday.
According to left-wing American news agency CNN, which claimed to obtain the documents on Monday, Framatome accused Chinese safety officials of “raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province in order to avoid having to shut it down.”
CNN claimed, failing to cite on-the-record sources, that U.S. officials took the June 8 warning seriously but concluded the situation at the Taishan nuclear plant has not reached “crisis level” and decided to give Framatome, CGN, and Chinese authorities some time to resolve the problem:
Analysts quoted by CNN said Framatome contacted DOE to request waivers that would let them share “American technical assistance” with staff at the plant to help them address the situation. Other analysts weighing on the story noted that CGN is a blacklisted entity in the United States, so Framatome could risk triggering secondary sanctions that would damage its U.S. business dealings by sharing American technology or expertise with Taishan staff unless it obtained exemptions in advance.Concern was significant enough that the National Security Council held multiple meetings last week as they monitored the situation, including two at the deputy level and another gathering at the assistant secretary level on Friday, which was led by NSC Senior Director for China Laura Rosenberger and Senior Director for Arms Control Mallory Stewart, according to US officials.
The Biden administration has discussed the situation with the French government and their own experts at the Department of Energy, sources said. The US has also been in contact with the Chinese government, US officials said, though the extent of that contact is unclear.
The US government declined to explain the assessment but officials at the NSC, State Department and the Department of Energy insisted that if there were any risk to the Chinese public, the US would be required to make it known under current treaties related to nuclear accidents.
