Congenital Deformity Rate Remains Low Near Nuclear Power Plant

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 20, 2001

Congenital Deformity Rate Remains Low Near Nuclear Power Plant

The morbidity rate of people born with congenital anomalies has remained low in Haiyan, an east China county where Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, China's first self-designed, constructed and managed nuclear power plant, has been operating for 10 years.

Nuclear Power Plant in East China Celebrates 10-Year Smooth Operation

Low Morbidity Rate

Data collected by Chinese and US scientists during the past decade shows that the morbidity rate of those with the congenital deformity in Haiyan County stood at 0.72 percent between 1991 and 1995 and 0.667 percent between 1996 and 2000.

Meanwhile, the morbidity rate in the city Jiaxing, located within Haiyan, was at an optimistic 0.792 percent during the period.

The statistics, certified by China's Ministry of Public Health and the US Center for Disease Control, shows that China's first self-designed, constructed and managed nuclear power plant has not brought any harm to the environment, said a local official, who is a member of the research team.

Radiation Controlled

It is widely agreed in the medical circle that excessive radiation intake during pregnancy can cause congenital deformities in newborns.

The discharge of nuclear waste and the radioactive level of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant have been controlled since it started to generate power in 1991, said a source of the plant.

The Power Plant

To date, Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant has produced 16.78 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, making a profit of some 4.88 billion yuan (588 million U.S. dollars).

About 95% of the equipment of Qinshan was designed and manufactured in China. Only 5% of the equipment was imported, being mainly major items. Located at Hai Yan, Zhejiang Province, on the northern shore of the Hangzhou Bay.it is about 90 km from Hangzhou and 120 km from Shanghai.

The environment is not polluted by the radiation pollution in China on the whole and the radiation environmental quality remains at the natural base level.

In the areas surrounding the radiation pollution sources, the rate of environmental radiation air absorption dosage, the specific activity of the total radioactivity of aerosol or precipitation and the concentration of radioactivity nuclide of water, animals and plant samples were within the increase and decrease scope of the natural base level. The monitoring results in the areas surrounding Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant shows that the total radiation were far lower than the national standards of household drinking water quality.

Examination of the Safety of Nuclear Facilities In 1999, State Environmental Protection Administration dispatched over 30 inspection groups and conducted supervision and inspection on the operation, construction, retiring of the nuclear facilities and disposal sites of low and medium radioactive waste.

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