China’s Taishan nuclear plant has 3 times the amount of radioactive fuel as Fukushima, once revealed to be using substandard core assemblies

In fact, back in 2016, when the plant was still under construction, French authorities warned that the core components used in the plant project, with a carbon content exceeding the legal standard by 36%, would make the vessel less tough and prone to brittle cracking when subjected to extremely high temperatures and pressures, leading to nuclear leakage.

In April 2016, the French Nuclear Safety Authority found that the reactor pressure vessel used by the French company Areva, the contractor for the Taishan nuclear power plant, failed, with a carbon content of 0.3% in the top and bottom of the vessel, significantly exceeding the legal standard by 36% and making the vessel less tough and vulnerable to cracking when subjected to extreme temperatures and pressures. The vessel was not tough enough to withstand extremely high temperatures and pressures and was prone to brittle cracking, leading to nuclear leakage. The construction of the EPR nuclear power plants under construction in Finland and France was halted, but the Chinese authorities ignored this and continued with the project to become the first nuclear power plant in the world to use this component and technology.

In May 2016, the French Nuclear Safety Authority found that the problem was getting bigger and bigger during its investigation when Areva submitted a report admitting that in the 51 years since 1965, some 400 components had been improperly tested for safety, including test results and functions that had been modified (modifications), omitted (omissions), or had inconsistent information (inconsistencies). inconsistencies), and at the time, the Daily Telegraph directly described the incident as “falsified”.

According to Hong Kong media reports quoting Hong Kong senior engineer and founding vice chairman of the Civic Party, Lai Kwong Tak, “the amount of nuclear radiation fuel loaded at the Taishan nuclear power plant is three times that of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and in the event of a massive nuclear leak, it would affect a 7,000 square kilometer area nearby, affecting more than 50 million people, including Hong Kong.”