China revises emergency plan to deal with nuclear accidents

China has approved a revised version of the national nuclear emergency plan as it expands its nuclear power sector in a big way.
Drawing on the global response to nuclear accidents, including Japan's Fukushima disaster in 2011, the plan specifies how national and provincial authorities and power stations should respond in the event of a nuclear accident.
The plan, amended from its 2005 version, requires relevant parties to disclose information in a timely manner to guide public response, according to the National Nuclear Emergency Response Office, state run Xinhua news agency reported.
The risk of a severe nuclear accident, though extremely low, should not be ruled out, and China must spare no efforts in improving nuclear emergency management, said Pan Ziqiang, director of the Science and Technology Committee at the China National Nuclear Corporation.

China has lifted a ban on approvals for new nuclear power stations, which was imposed in 2012, following the Fukushima disaster.
China now requires that new stations be built according to the world's highest safety standards.
China currently operates 17 nuclear power reactors with a combined generating capacity of 14.76 million kW while another 28 nuclear plants are being developed.