Safety Issues Delay Fuel Loading at Chinese Reactor

China will not load fuel at two EPR nuclear reactors designed by France's Areva until recent safety issues have been fully resolved, the environment ministry said, its first response to faults detected at a similar reactor in France.

Parts of the Taishan 1 and 2 nuclear reactors under construction in the southern province of Guangdong were made by the same manufacturer that supplied the reactor vessel for EDF's EPR in Normandy, the site of anomalies found by France's nuclear watchdog ASN last week.

"In general, the Taishan nuclear plant is functioning effectively, and its construction is under control," said Tang Bo, an official at the National Nuclear Safety Administration was quoted by the ministry as saying in an announcement.

"The ministry would not approve the loading of fuels into the reactors unless the equipment issue has been fully identified and solved," he said.

All of China's 23 active nuclear plants have good safety records, and another 27 reactors now under construction are being closely monitored by the ministry, according to the announcement.

China is aiming to bring its total nuclear generation capacity to 58 gigawatts by the end of 2020, up from 20 GW at the end of last year, and is relying on advanced "third-generation" technology, much of which has originated overseas.

But its rapid capacity expansion plan has been subject to delays, with the country's approval process suspended after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011. No new projects were given the go-ahead until earlier this year.

The construction of the world's first AP1000 reactor, designed by the U.S.-based Westinghouse, has also been delayed as a result of design problems, and is now set to be completed next year.

Reporting By Shanghai Newsroom and David Stanway