China: Fuel rods damaged at nuclear plant, radiation not leaking

China on Wednesday said there was no leak at the Taishan nuclear power station, following a report from CNN that the French company that owns parts of the station had warned of an “imminent radiological threat.”

China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment called the allegations of raised radiation levels “erroneous,” Reuters reports. Though an increase in radiation levels had been detected, they allegedly fall within the limits for safe operation.

According to the ministry, the increased levels were caused by damage to a few fuel rods, which the agency said is normal during the production and transportation of fuel. Around five of the more than 60,000 fuel rods had been damaged at the plant, which is partially owned and operated by the French company Framatome.

“Environmental monitoring in the vicinity of the Taishan plant found no abnormal parameters … showing no leak has occurred at all,” the Chinese ministry said, according to Reuters.

#UPDATE A French nuclear firm says it is working to resolve a “performance issue” at a plant it part-owns in China’s Guangdong province.

CNN reports the US is assessing report of a leak at Taishan Nuclear Power Plant after Framatome warned of an “imminent radiological threat” pic.twitter.com/T70AKiNczH

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 14, 2021

The ministry reportedly said that China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration had looked at the specifications for noble gases used in reactor coolants at the station but added this had “nothing to do with the detection of radiation outside the nuclear plant.”

Going forward, the ministry said it would monitor radioactivity levels at the reactor and maintain communication between the International Atomic Energy Agency, which reports to the United Nations, as well as France’s nuclear safety watchdog.

CNN reported on Monday that the Biden administration had been in contact with the French government in regards to the reported elevated levels, though it did not believe the situation had reached a “crisis level.”