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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, to a question by the Dr Hon Margaret Ng in the Legislative Council today (July 7):
Question:
It has been reported that a small increase in radioactivity was observed in the reactor cooling water at Unit 2 of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station on May 23 this year, which has aroused grave public concern, and CLP Power Hong Kong Limited will submit an investigation report on the incident to the Daya Bay Nuclear Safety Consultative Committee (NSCC). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, whether it knows:
(a) the operation of NSCC; whether NSCC has held meetings regularly and made public the minutes of its meetings, and whether it will submit annual reports to the Government;
(b) the criteria for the appointment of members to NSCC, the list of incumbent NSCC members and their respective years of service; and
(c) when and how NSCC learned about the aforesaid incident; the actions taken by NSCC after learning about the incident, and whether it has put forward any recommendation to the authorities; if so, of the details?
Reply:
President,
(a)–(c) The Daya Bay Nuclear Safety Consultative Committee (the Committee) is formed by the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Operations & Management Company (DNMC) in the Mainland with its members being invited by DNMC to join the Committee. As such, the Committee is neither formed nor appointed by the HKSAR Government and has no obligation to submit reports to the HKSAR Government. It is understood that the Committee has a Chairman, two Deputy Chairmen and a number of members, comprising university president, nuclear and environment experts, professors, academics, doctors, medical practitioners, media and engineers.
In regard to the responsibilities of the Committee, when they learned about event and their response, they had issued a media statement on June 16 which is now attached for reference.
As a matter of fact, in case of any events relating to the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station (DBNPS), the HKSAR Government will contact the Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company (HKNIC) and the Guangdong authorities direct to seek further information. HKNIC is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Light & Power Holdings Limited (CLP). The DNMC will notify HKNIC of all Licensing Operational Events. The HKNIC submits monthly reports of Licensing Operational Events to its Board with members including representatives of the Environment Bureau and the Security Bureau (SB). The HKNIC also uploads such information on its website for the public's reference.
On the other hand, the HKSAR Government and the Guangdong authorities have established an official contingency notification channel. In simple terms, the Prevention and Emergency Administrative Commission Office of Guangdong Province for Nuclear Accident of Civil Nuclear Facility (PEACO,GD) is responsible for co-ordinating contingency actions to be taken by various Guangdong authorities in response to events at the DBNPS. In case of a contingency event or accident at the plant, the DBNPS operator will inform the PEACO,GD and the relevant state organisations immediately. The PEACO,GD will notify the HKSAR Government in accordance with the contingency notification arrangements agreed between the two sides.
Apart from the existing notification mechanism, the HKSAR Government has also set up its warning system for active monitoring so as to obtain first-hand information. One of the major components of this warning system is Hong Kong Observatory (HKO)'s Environmental Radiation Monitoring Network, which comprises ten radiation monitoring stations for recording ambient gamma radiation levels continuously. In addition, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) operates two identical on-line Water Contamination Monitoring Systems at Muk Wu Pumping Station to monitor incoming drinking water from Guangdong. The alarms at HKO and WSD will be activated immediately if there is any abnormal change in the radiation level.
Furthermore, a sudden power interruption at the DBNPS may indicate the occurrence of an abnormality at the power plant, though this situation does not necessarily mean a nuclear event. If such power interruption occurs, apart from being notified by the DBNPS, the System Control Centre of CLP will also be able to detect it immediately through its own monitoring system. CLP will alert the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and the HKO in accordance with the established notification mechanism.
Upon receipt of any alarm, the departments concerned will follow relevant procedures and review their monitoring data immediately. They will also seek verification from relevant authorities, assess the situation, and assist the SB in activating the contingency plan according to the prevailing situation.
The Administration will review the existing arrangement for handling nuclear events and the notification mechanism with a view to strengthening co-ordination with all concerned parties.
Ends/Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:07
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