Three new nuclear power reactors in China have passed significant pre-operational tests and inspections. Sanmen 1 passed a comprehensive safety check ahead of fuel loading, while a containment integrity test was completed at Haiyang 2. Meanwhile, cold function tests were completed at Yangjiang 5. China National Nuclear Corporation announced on 21 July that the AP1000 reactor at unit 1 of the Sanmen nuclear power plant in China’s Zhejiang province had completed a comprehensive nuclear safety check. This, it said, is the “most critical inspection” before fuel loading. A team of inspectors from the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s National Nuclear Safety Administration concluded that the quality assurance work of the construction and pre-loading phase of the unit meets basic safety requirements. Hot testing of Sanmen 1 – aimed at simulating the temperatures and pressures which the reactor’s systems will be subjected to during normal operation – was completed on 30 June. Four AP1000 units are under construction in China – two each at Sanmen and Haiyang – and are all scheduled to start commercial operation in 2018. Sanmen will be the first.
World Nuclear News 24th July 2017 read more »