US assesses reported leak at Chinese nuclear power plant after French company warns of ‘radiological threat’

The US government has been assessing a report of a leak at a Chinese nuclear power plant after the French company that helps operate it warned of a “radiological threat”.

Over the past week, the US government has been assessing a report of a leak at a Chinese nuclear power plant after the French company that partly owns it and helps operate it warned of an "imminent radiological threat”, according to US officials quoted in CNN. The French company Framatome said in its warning letter to the US Department of Energy that the Chinese safety authority was raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province to avoid it getting shut down. The company asked the US to issue a waiver that would allow them to share American technical assistance in order to resolve the issue. According to a source quoted in CNN, the Biden administration does not believe the facility is at a ‘crisis level’ yet. As per US officials, the situation does not currently pose a severe safety threat to workers at the plant or the Chinese public.