China denies nuclear accident reports

Beijing, Jan 28 (ANI): China has denied that it has become the latest country to experience a nuclear accident, after reports emerged that it was forced to shut down its newest nuclear reactor last year.

A report from Japan's Atomic Energy Agency said the China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) stopped generating electricity in October following an accident.

The incident sparked alarm in Japan and South Korea over the prospect of radiation leaking from the CEFR.

According to a Tokyo newspaper, which cited the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency's investigation, those fears were intensified by Beijing's failure to report the accident or release details of what happened.

The same report highlighted worrying safety lapses at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) outside Beijing, which houses the CEFR.

But Wan Gang, the director of the CIAE, denied there had been an accident or any cover-up, The Telegraph reports.

"CEFR hasn't been operating since July last year so reports that an accident occurred in the autumn are extremely inconsistent with the facts," Gang told Chinese media.

Gang also refuted the allegations of poor safety, saying five teams were monitoring the reactor around the clock and that there were multiple measures in place to prevent radiation leaks.

He also denied there were beds in the main control room for staff to sleep on.

CEFR is a fourth-generation reactor and China's first fast reactor. The country has never experienced a major nuclear accident, although there have been small leaks of radiation from some of its nuclear power stations. (ANI)