Beijing – China’s Taishan nuclear plant, situated just 130 kilometres from Hong Kong, caused fear among people of a radiation leak. According to US media reports, China is trying to cover up this incident, which is another Chernobyl disaster in the making. But China’s Environment Ministry denied the US media’s claim. China has acknowledged that noble gases were released into the nuclear plant in Taishan because five fuel rods were damaged. The news of the suspicious death of Zhang Zhijian, Vice President of the Chinese Nuclear Society, surfaced less than a few hours after China’s confession.
A US news channel has reported that radiation was emitted from the Taishan nuclear plant in China’s southern Guangdong province. The news channel had also referred to the exchange of letters between a French company having a partnership in Taishan and US agencies. A letter stated that a few weeks ago, one of the two projects was leaking fusion gas, which could cause concern.
The Taishan project is located 60 kilometres from Macau and 130 kilometres from Hong Kong. In addition, the news of the nuclear leak was picked up by the international media, as it is located close to the South China Sea. The US media compared it to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident in Soviet Russia. During that time, Soviet Russia had claimed that 50 people died in a leak at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
After being trapped by the US news reports, China declared that the nuclear project was operating as per the norms. However, two days ago, China’s Ministry of Environment released a different piece of information. The Chinese Ministry announced that five fuel rods from Taishan’s project number one were damaged. China claimed that due to this, noble gas was emitted, which poses a minor threat to the environment.
The news of the death of a senior Chinese nuclear researcher came just hours after China’s explanation regarding the Taishan atomic project. Zhang Zhijian, the Vice President of the Chinese Nuclear Society and Harbin Engineering University, died tragically in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province. The local police stated that Zhang committed suicide by jumping from the balcony of his residence. This is a suicide; he was not killed, the police said. Zhang Zhijian was a renowned nuclear researcher in China. Two years ago, he was honoured with the highest technology award in China. The media raise a strong suspicion that his death might be linked to the leak in China’s nuclear program.
