China nuclear reactor: French partner calls meeting over leak

French energy giant EDF said on Monday that it has called a meeting with its Chinese partner after learning of a build-up of noble gasses in one of the Taishan nuclear power plant’s reactors.

The French minority owner of a nuclear plant in China said on Monday that it has been informed of a build-up of noble gases in one of the power station’s reactors and has called a meeting with its Chinese partner to discuss it. French energy giant EDF owns 30 percent of the joint venture that owns and operates Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong province north of Hong Kong. State-owned China General Nuclear Power Corp owns the other 70 percent. “EDF has been informed of the increase in the concentration of certain noble gases in the primary circuit of reactor n°1 [number one] of the Taishan nuclear power plant,” the company said in a statement on its website. “The presence of certain noble gases in the primary circuit is a known phenomenon, studied and provided for in the reactor operating procedures.”