China's nuclear facilities, activities "safe and stable": white paper

China's nuclear facilities and nuclear activities have all along been in safe and stable state and, in particular, the safety level of nuclear power stations has witnessed constant improvement, said a white paper issued on Wednesday.

None of the nuclear power generating units in the Chinese mainland has suffered events or accidents rated above Level 2 under the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, said the document on China's nuclear emergency preparedness issued by the State Council Information Office.

"The release of gaseous and liquid effluents was kept far below the national regulatory limits," it said.

All of the under-construction nuclear power generating units have intact quality assurance, safety supervision and emergency preparedness systems, the white paper said.

In the wake of the Chernobyl accident, China made it clear that there would be no change in its nuclear power development policy, while stressing that a good job would be done on nuclear emergency preparedness, it said.

The national nuclear emergency work got off the ground in 1986. In 1991, the National Nuclear Accident Emergency Committee was inaugurated and commissioned to make overall planning and coordinate nuclear accident emergency preparations and rescue work nationwide.

In 1997, the first National Nuclear Emergency Plan (Scenario) was issued to lay out arrangements for nuclear emergency preparations and response in the form of a governmental decision.

To cater to the needs of nuclear power development, multiple revisions have since been made to the original plan and the latest version of National Nuclear Emergency Plan has been enacted.

"China's nuclear emergency management and preparations have seen comprehensive upgrades in terms of system, specialization, standards and scientific rigor," the white paper said. Endi