On the 3rd, workers are sorting coal near a coal mine in Datong City, Shanxi Province, China. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Recently, China announced plans to construct a massive number of nuclear power plants, but concerns are rising as it has been revealed that minor nuclear accidents have been occurring continuously.
According to the China National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) on the 6th, a minor accident occurred last month at a nuclear power plant located on the eastern coast of Jiangsu Province, China, causing the reactor operation to be temporarily suspended. This nuclear power plant is relatively close to the West Sea of Korea.
The power plant conducted its own analysis, replaced the faulty component in the reactor's manual shutdown control circuit, and carried out a test operation.
During this process, the NNSA stated that the nuclear power plant was in a safe condition and that the radiation levels at the site were normal. They also added that there was no radiation exposure or contamination among the personnel on site.
This minor accident at the nuclear power plant marks the fourth such incident this year. The Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that level 0 incidents occurred at this nuclear power plant on May 12 and August 27, and at Unit 2 on March 9.
As nuclear accidents at Chinese nuclear power plants continue to occur, concerns about safety are growing, especially since the world's largest nuclear power belt is planned to be established along China's east coast, which borders Korea's West Sea.
Recently, China announced plans to build at least 150 nuclear power plants over the next 15 years to achieve its carbon emission reduction targets. The number 150 exceeds the total number of nuclear power plants built by the rest of the world over the past 35 years.
According to Bloomberg on the 3rd, China, the world's largest carbon emitter, plans to invest $440 billion (approximately 518 trillion KRW) over 15 years to increase nuclear power capacity by 147 GW (gigawatts) by 2035.
This capacity is enough to supply electricity to more than ten large cities the size of Beijing. If the plan proceeds without setbacks, China will become the world's largest nuclear power holder as early as 2025, surpassing the United States and France.
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