Nuclear Safety in China

III. Ensuring Effective Regulation of Nuclear Safety

China treats nuclear safety as an important obligation of the state, and exercises unified regulation through special organizations and a regulatory system underpinned by independence, openness, the rule of law, rationality, and effectiveness. To ensure independent regulation of nuclear safety and enhance its authority and effectiveness, China has strengthened technical support and developed a professional team while modernizing the system and the regulatory capacity.

A three-pronged regulatory system. In China, unified regulation over the surveillance of nuclear safety, radiation safety, and the radiation environment is exercised independently, and a three-pronged regulatory system consisting of headquarters, regional offices and technical support organizations is in place. Established in 1984, the National Nuclear Safety Administration is responsible for the regulation of civil nuclear facilities, the formulation of nuclear safety policies, laws, regulations, standards, and plans, the implementation of nuclear safety license management, and the coordination of nuclear safety regulation across the country. To perform nuclear and radiation safety surveillance, it has six regional offices in the north, east, south, southwest, northwest, and northeast of China. Professional technical support organizations such as the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center and the Radiation Monitoring Technical Center provide technical support for nuclear safety review, independent verification, surveillance, law enforcement, and assessment of the radiation environment. Local governments at all levels regulate regional radiation safety through regulatory organizations or full-time/part-time regulators according to local conditions.

Comprehensive review and license management. The government has strengthened safety control of nuclear facilities, materials and activities and radioactive materials through comprehensive safety licensing and rigorous technical review. It exercises full life-cycle and phased license management over the siting, construction, operation, and decommissioning of nuclear power plants, research reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities, and facilities that handle the treatment, storage, and disposal of radioactive waste. The government implements license management over licensees that have nuclear materials, and over licensees that produce, sell and use radioisotope and radiation-emitting devices based on categories and levels of radiation. It performs approval and online monitoring over the transport of radioactive materials and implements license management over licensees that design, manufacture, install, and perform nondestructive testing of civil nuclear safety equipment, and licensees that design and manufacture containers for the transport of radioactive materials. A risk-informed and problem-oriented review system has been established, and efforts are being made to enhance the capacity of independent verification and calculations, probabilistic safety assessment, and risk assessment.

Whole-process surveillance and law enforcement. The government performs rigorous surveillance of nuclear facilities and units that are engaged in nuclear activities in accordance with the law, to ensure compliance with nuclear safety laws, regulations, standards, and licensing requirements. It carries out regular surveillance of units that operate nuclear facilities, manufacture nuclear safety equipment, and utilize nuclear technologies, covering all matters and activities in relation to nuclear safety such as design, purchasing, manufacturing, construction, operation, and decommissioning. The government performs on-site safety surveillance of key nuclear facilities and activities, urges enterprises in violation of relevant regulations to rectify, and punishes those that violate the law. It has initiated special programs to handle major cases caused by quality issues, taking resolute action against operations involving falsification and violation of regulations. A national platform has been set up for nuclear power plants and research reactors to share experience and information, to effectively ensure the safe operation of nuclear facilities.

Round-the-clock radiation environment monitoring. China has established a three-tier radiation environment monitoring system at state, provincial and municipal level, and three networks－national radiation environment monitoring, surveillance monitoring of radiation environment in the vicinity of key nuclear facilities, and nuclear and radiation emergency monitoring－to monitor radiation environment round-the-clock in all areas. As of June 2019, the state radiation environment monitoring network had 1,501 monitoring sites: 167 automatic monitoring sites for atmospheric radiation, 328 land sites, 362 soil sites, 477 inland water sites, 48 seawater sites, 85 electromagnetic radiation sites, and 34 marine life sites. There were also 46 radiation environment surveillance monitoring systems set up in the vicinity of key nuclear facilities as well as sites set up to monitor radioactivity in food.

Improved nuclear and radiation emergency response. China has set up the National Nuclear Accident Emergency Coordination Committee, and formed a three-tier emergency response system at state and provincial level and also at nuclear facility operating organizations, to organize emergency response to nuclear and radiation accidents. The state has established an emergency management system and a response and action mechanism for radiation accidents, and an emergency monitoring and dispatch platform that covers the whole country. All provinces and equivalent administrative units have carried out radiation response drills to enhance their capacity in rapid response and proper action to different types of radiation accidents. China has a 300-member national nuclear emergency rescue team and 25 professional rescue units, 8 types of national nuclear emergency technical support centers, 3 fast support bases for nuclear accidents at nuclear power plants, and 17 medical centers for treating nuclear radiation injuries. Regular joint nuclear emergency drills are carried out to improve preparedness and response.

Stronger professional teams. To meet the requirements of the development of the nuclear sector and nuclear safety regulation, China has given top priority to strengthening the professional teams, to develop an "iron army" with strong political convictions, professional capacity, impeccable conduct and a strong sense of responsibility. They will work under pressure, persevere, and dedicate themselves to the cause of nuclear safety. A nuclear and radiation safety regulation team has been formed, consisting of 100 persons at the headquarters, 1,000 persons at the central level, and nearly 10,000 persons nationwide. To cultivate leading figures in nuclear safety, the state has set up a national nuclear safety expert commission composed of 25 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and more than 100 leading experts on nuclear safety. To develop the professional teams, China has enforced qualification management of nuclear safety professionals, strengthened the qualification management of nuclear facility operators, nuclear safety equipment welders, nondestructive testers, and other special posts, and required registered nuclear safety engineers for critical posts. China has established an education and training mechanism involving institutions of higher learning, research institutes, and enterprises, to expand the channels of professional training, strengthen the cultivation of nuclear safety professionals, and enhance their technical competence and safety awareness. As of June 2019, there were 72 universities in China running programs on nuclear engineering, of which 47 had separate schools on nuclear science, enrolling some 3,000 undergraduates in nuclear engineering each year.

Enhancing R&D in nuclear safety technology. China has included R&D in nuclear safety into national planning for scientific and technological programs, with a focus on work of a strategic nature for basic application and public good. China has established a National Research and Development Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety Regulation, conducted research on key technologies of radiation environment monitoring and technical review, and employed new technology in review and surveillance. The state encourages the nuclear industry to develop and apply advanced and reliable nuclear safety technology. Important results have been achieved in the technological research and demonstration projects on advanced reactors and supporting systems. A proprietary distributed control system (DCS) for nuclear power plants has been applied in the Hualong-1 demonstration project. The pressurized water reactor CAP1400 has made important breakthroughs.

Demonstration projects in high temperature gas-cooled and sodium-cooled fast reactors are making headway, and R&D in small reactors for different applications are progressing smoothly. China is using more nuclear power equipment manufactured domestically, and working hard to increase its manufacturing capacity in nuclear power equipment. It has made steady progress to independently produce key equipment of GW-class nuclear power units, achieving key successes in the independent R&D and manufacturing of pressure vessels, steam generators, main pipelines, advanced nuclear fuels, nuclear-grade welding materials, and other key nuclear safety equipment and materials.

Full implementation of nuclear safety improvements. In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, the Chinese government organized a nine-month safety inspection of the country's operating nuclear power plants, those under construction, research reactors, and other key nuclear facilities. The result showed a minimal possibility of nuclear accidents, as the sites of China's nuclear facilities had been selected with full consideration of extreme natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, and tsunami. Learning from Japan's lesson, the Chinese government has further enhanced its nuclear facility safety by implementing improvement plans for the short, medium, and long terms and by increasing nuclear facilities' capacity to resist external events and prevent and mitigate serious accidents.

IV. Maintaining High-Level Safety

China has maintained a good nuclear safety record for a long time－it ranks among the highest of all countries in terms of nuclear power safety operation indicators. Its safety level in the use of nuclear technology continues to improve, its nuclear material control is strong, and public health and environmental safety are fully guaranteed. In 2000, 2004, 2010 and 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency conducted four comprehensive reviews of China's nuclear and radiation safety regulation, giving full recognition to China's good practices and experiences.

Safe and efficient nuclear power development. In accordance with the concept of multiple protective barriers and defense-in-depth, and with the aim of ensuring that they are completely safe and reliable, China uses the most advanced technology and the most stringent standards for the development of nuclear power, and strictly manages the entire life cycle of nuclear facilities from siting, design, construction, and operation to decommissioning. Since 1985, when the first nuclear power plant on the Chinese mainland, the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, began construction, China has adopted safe and reliable reactor technology, and learned from the experiences and lessons of major nuclear accidents abroad to make safety improvements. The safety performance of the units is better guaranteed. After more than 30 years, China has achieved independent design, construction and operational capability in nuclear power, and entered a new stage of safe and efficient development. China took the lead in the construction and operation of the GW-class pressurized water reactor, AP1000, using advanced passive safety systems, and the European advanced pressurized water reactor, EPR. The Hualong-1 nuclear reactor, a product of independent research and development, ranks among the highest in the world in terms of safety design. Construction of the demonstration project is being carried out in accordance with the highest quality standards, making the Hualong-1 a highlight of China's "going global" strategy. By June 2019, China had 47 nuclear power units in operation, ranking third in the world, and 11 nuclear power units under construction, ranking first in the world. The performance indicators of nuclear power units are generally good. By June 2019, the industry had operated safely and stably for more than 300 reactoryears, and there had been no incidents or accidents at or above Level 2 under the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). The incidence of Level 0 deviations and Level 1 anomalies had also decreased. In the comprehensive ranking of similar units of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) in recent years, operating units in China have performed above the world median for more than 80 percent of the indicators, and have reached the world advanced level for more than 70 percent of the indicators. In 2018, China led the world with 12 operating units achieving full marks in WANO composite index.

Safe operation of other key nuclear facilities. Based on its own strength and drawing on advanced international experience, China has designed and developed research reactors such as high-temperature gascooled reactors, fast reactors, small nuclear power reactors, molten salt reactors, and transmutation devices. Nineteen operating civil research reactors and critical assemblies maintain safe and stable operation. We have implemented the strategy of a closed nuclear fuel cycle and gradually established a complete nuclear fuel cycle system, including uranium mining and metallurgy, uranium conversion, uranium enrichment, processing of nuclear fuel elements, spent fuel reprocessing, and treatment and disposal of radioactive waste. Eighteen civil nuclear fuel cycle facilities and two low-and intermediate-level radioactive solid waste disposal sites have a good safety record.

Classification and safe disposal of radioactive waste. China implements radioactive waste classification: near-surface or medium-depth disposal of low-and intermediate-level radioactive waste in locations that meet the requirements of nuclear safety, and deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste in centralized locations. To ensure permanent safety, nuclear facility operating organizations and radioactive waste disposal organizations carry out minimization and decontamination of radioactive waste in accordance with the law. All provinces and equivalent administrative units have built urban radioactive waste repositories for centralized storage and proper disposal of radioactive waste produced by nuclear technology. We will continue to promote the safe storage and treatment of spent fuel, enhance our capacity in the treatment and disposal of radioactive waste, carry out the decommissioning and environmental restoration of uranium mining and metallurgical facilities, and standardize the environmental management of waste rock, waste water, tailings and slag in uranium mining and metallurgy, so as to ensure that radiation is maintained at safe levels.

Markedly improved safety in the use of nuclear technology. China implements dynamic management of radioactive sources from cradle to grave, and brings all source-related units into the scope of government regulation. We have established a national database for the management of nuclear technology utilization, taken measures to enhance the safety of radioactive sources, realized the real-time online monitoring of high-risk mobile sources, and improved the safety level of nuclear technology utilization. As of June 2019, 142,607 radioactive sources and 181,293 radiation-emitting devices were in use in China, and a total of 73,070 units were engaged in the production, sale and use of radioisotopes and radiation-emitting devices. One hundred percent of radioactive sources and radiation-emitting devices are subject to licensing management, and 100 percent of waste radioactive sources are safely stored. The annual incidence of radiation accidents from radioactive sources has continued to decline, from 6.2 per 10,000 sources in the 1990s to less than 1.0 per 10,000 sources at present, the lowest level in history.

Upgraded nuclear security. China regards nuclear security as an important protective screen for nuclear safety and controls nuclear materials in accordance with the strictest standards. Nuclear power plants, nuclear fuel cycle facilities, and radioactive source security systems are in line with international standards. The rules and regulations are sound and complete, and the mechanisms for non-proliferation and nuclear terrorism prevention are improving. We are building a nuclear security system for new nuclear facilities in accordance with the latest international standards, and have invested billions of yuan in special funds to upgrade the security system of the original nuclear facilities, thus greatly strengthening our prevention capabilities. To date there have been no incidents of theft, loss or illegal use of nuclear materials.

Good radiation environment quality. The radiation environment monitoring data in China show that the radiation environment quality across the country is within the range of natural environmental radiation, and the activity concentration levels of artificial radionuclides are normal. Surveillance monitoring data show that radiation in the environment around national nuclear facilities and nuclear technology utilization projects has not changed significantly compared with the level prior to construction, and the individual public dose is far lower than the national limit. Public health and environmental safety are fully guaranteed.