BEIJING (Thomson Financial) - China has examined and confirmed the safety of
nuclear power reactors after an earthquake that killed an estimated 50,000
people, the state-run Xinhua news agency said Sunday.
China's nuclear facilities "were confirmed safe and controllable after
careful scrutiny" following last Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, the official
agency said, quoting government sources.
China has 11 nuclear reactors, mostly in coastal areas, accounting for less
than two percent of the country's total energy production.
But the country has been looking to expand nuclear power to stem rising
pollution and compensate for its reliance on coal, which was shown to be risky
last winter when heavy snowstorms cut off supply.
An earthquake last year in Japan stopped operation of the world's largest
nuclear facility northwest of Tokyo and caused a small radioactive leak.
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