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Nuclear expert raises concerns about Chinese role in UK's new nuclear plants
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/17/nuclear-expert-warning-chinese-role-uk-plants
Nuclear expert raises concerns about Chinese role in UK's new nuclear plants
UK government adviser John Large says Chinese firms are rooted in state system without independent safety regulators
Terry Macalister and Jennifer Rankin
The Guardian, Thursday 17 October 2013
One of Britain's leading nuclear engineering consultants has raised serious concerns about the safety implications of handing over some of Britain's nuclear plants to Chinese operators.
John Large, a government adviser, said he felt uncomfortable with the lack of transparency around the Chinese atomic industry, which has been drafted in to help the UK by George Osborne on the chancellor's trade mission to China. Osborne has given the green light to Chinese nuclear firms taking majority stakes in the UK's next generation of nuclear plants.
<snip>
... he said he was very wary of the "totally non-transparent" Chinese regulatory system, which left outsiders with almost no idea how it really worked.
Large feared that the Treasury's enthusiasm for winning and keeping foreign investment might mean pressure being brought to bear on the UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation to gloss over problems encountered with a Chinese operator.
<snip>
The concerns came as a report showed that China has the least transparent companies operating in the major emerging economies of Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa. In a survey of 75 companies across the Brics by Transparency International, Chinese companies were the least likely to publish financial information and vital details about corporate structure that allows them to be held to account.
<snip>
Nuclear expert raises concerns about Chinese role in UK's new nuclear plants
UK government adviser John Large says Chinese firms are rooted in state system without independent safety regulators
Terry Macalister and Jennifer Rankin
The Guardian, Thursday 17 October 2013
One of Britain's leading nuclear engineering consultants has raised serious concerns about the safety implications of handing over some of Britain's nuclear plants to Chinese operators.
John Large, a government adviser, said he felt uncomfortable with the lack of transparency around the Chinese atomic industry, which has been drafted in to help the UK by George Osborne on the chancellor's trade mission to China. Osborne has given the green light to Chinese nuclear firms taking majority stakes in the UK's next generation of nuclear plants.
<snip>
... he said he was very wary of the "totally non-transparent" Chinese regulatory system, which left outsiders with almost no idea how it really worked.
Large feared that the Treasury's enthusiasm for winning and keeping foreign investment might mean pressure being brought to bear on the UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation to gloss over problems encountered with a Chinese operator.
<snip>
The concerns came as a report showed that China has the least transparent companies operating in the major emerging economies of Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa. In a survey of 75 companies across the Brics by Transparency International, Chinese companies were the least likely to publish financial information and vital details about corporate structure that allows them to be held to account.
<snip>