WikiLeaks Cables Reveal Fears Over China's Nuclear Safety ('Building Reactors on the Cheap')

[Hissyspit]

Source: Guardian

WikiLeaks cables reveal fears over China's nuclear safety
Cables highlight regulation weaknesses that permitted cheap, out-of-date technology, 'vastly increasing' risk of nuclear accident

guardian.co.uk, Thu 25 Aug 2011 16.02 BST

China has "vastly increased" the risk of a nuclear accident by opting for cheap technology that will be 100 years old by the time dozens of its reactors reach the end of their lifespans, according to diplomatic cables from the US embassy in Beijing.

The warning comes just weeks after the government in Beijing resumed its ambitious nuclear expansion programme, that was temporarily halted for safety inspections in the wake of the meltdown of three reactors in Fukushima, Japan.

Cables released this week by WikiLeaks highlight the secrecy of the bidding process for power plant contracts, the influence of government lobbying, and potential weaknesses in the management and regulatory oversight of China's fast-expanding nuclear sector.

- snip -

This is crucial, according to the cable dated 29 August 2008 from the American Embassy in Beijing, because "all reactor purchases to date have been largely the result of internal high level political decisions absent any open process."

Read more: http://m.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/25/wikileaks-fears-china-nuclear-safety?cat=environment&type=article

[im1013]

1. That is one of the scariest things I can think of.

:scared: