China's Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China
January 2016, First Edition, 2016
Contents
Preface
I. Current Situation of Nuclear Energy Development and Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
II. Guidelines and Policies for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
III.All-round Promotion of Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
IV. Building and Maintenance of Nuclear Emergency Capabilities
V. Main Measures to Cope with Nuclear Accidents
VI. Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Exercises, Drills, Training and Public Communication
VII.Scientific and Technological Innovations in Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
VIII.International Cooperation and Exchanges in the Field of Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
Conclusion
III. All-round Promotion of Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
China lays great store by the planning, and legislative/institutional/regulatory systems (known in Chinese as "One Planning plus Three Systems") associated with nuclear emergency preparedness, and ensures the establishment and full functioning of a national nuclear emergency management system through the safeguards of legislation, institution and regulations.
Strengthening national nuclear emergency planning system building. The National Nuclear Emergency Plan is an action program pre-set by the central government to cope with nuclear accident scenarios. The National Nuclear Emergency Plan lays down a whole set of regulations on the organizational system, command and coordination mechanism, emergency response classification, post-accident restoration actions, and emergency preparation and safeguard measures related to nuclear emergency preparation and response actions. In line with the requirements of the National Nuclear Emergency Plan, governments at all levels and nuclear installation operators must draw up nuclear emergency plans fully in keeping with the National Nuclear Emergency Plan, so as to form a nationwide system of nuclear emergency planning.
Strengthening nuclear emergency legislative system building. China has put in place its own nuclear emergency legal framework, comprising state laws, administrative regulations, departmental rules, national and industrial standards, and management guidelines. As early as August 1993 China put into effect the Regulations on Emergency Management of Nuclear Accidents at Nuclear Power Plants. Since the beginning of this century China has, in succession, enacted the Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Radioactive Pollution and Emergency Response Law of the People's Republic of China, providing regulations and requirements from the legal perspective on nuclear emergency preparedness. In July 2015 the newly revised State Security Law of the People's Republic of China was promulgated, further reinforcing the nuclear accident emergency system and emergency response capacity building to prevent, control and eliminate damage to the life and health of the general public and ecological environment. In keeping with the foregoing laws and regulations, relevant departments of the government have worked out and put into effect their respective regulations and management guidelines, and relevant institutions and nuclear-related industries have drawn up applicable technical standards. The military also has drawn up relevant regulations, and established systems governing emergency rescue actions associated with nuclear emergency preparedness. Currently efforts are being made to push forward the legislative process associated with the Atomic Energy Law and Nuclear Safety Law.
Strengthening nuclear emergency management system building. China implements a nuclear emergency management system featuring unified leadership at the national level, overall coordination, assignment of responsibilities to different levels and emphasis on localized administration. The nuclear emergency management is led and placed under the responsibility of the department designated by the central government. The governments of the province (autonomous region or centrally administered municipality) wherein nuclear installations are located are responsible for nuclear emergency management within their respective jurisdictions. The operator of the relevant nuclear installation and its senior competent authority (unit) shall be responsible for on-site emergency management. Wherever necessary, the central government will lead, organize and coordinate nuclear emergency management at the national level.
Strengthening nuclear emergency mechanism building. China implements a nuclear emergency organization and coordination mechanism featuring leadership by one department and participation by multiple departments. At the national level, a National Nuclear Accident Emergency Coordination Committee has been set up comprising relevant governmental and military departments with the following main responsibilities: implementing state nuclear emergency work guidelines, drawing up national policies for nuclear emergency management, uniformly coordinating emergency activities at the national level, and deciding, organizing and commanding emergency assistance response actions. A National Nuclear Emergency Office has also been set up to undertake the routine work of the National Nuclear Accident Emergency Coordination Committee. At the provincial (regional and municipal) levels, nuclear emergency coordination bodies have been established, and operators of nuclear installations have set up their respective nuclear emergency bodies. At the national and provincial (regional and municipal) levels and within the operators of the nuclear installations, committees of experts or the support organizations thereof have been established to provide advice and suggestions on nuclear emergency preparedness and response.
IV. Building and Maintenance of Nuclear Emergency Capabilities
Sticking to the guidelines of versatile compatibility, resource integration, interdisciplinary support, and integration of military and civilian capabilities, China builds and maintains national nuclear emergency capabilities commensurate with the safe and efficient development of nuclear energy, and forms a fully-fledged national system of nuclear emergency response capabilities.
At the national level, a unified nuclear emergency response capabilities system is in place to coordinate military and local systems whereby three distinct tiers of capabilities are maintained, viz. national, provincial and nuclear installation operator levels, with a view to pushing forward with the building of various capabilities related to nuclear emergency response.
Building national nuclear emergency response professional technical support centers. China has built eight types of national-level nuclear emergency technical support centers, i.e., radiation monitoring, radiation prevention, aviation monitoring, medical rescue, marine radiation monitoring, meteorological monitoring and forecasting, decision-making aid, and response action, along with three national-level nuclear emergency response training bases, thereby essentially forming an integrated emergency technical support and training system featuring a full array of disciplines and functions, and effective support.
Building national-level nuclear emergency rescue forces. Through efforts over many years, China has already built a specialized nuclear emergency rescue capability system that is of a proper scale, well-coordinated and of a rational layout. To cater to the needs of layout for the construction of nuclear power stations, on the principle of regional deployment, modular set-up and disciplinary integration, over 30 national-level professional rescue teams have been formed to specifically take charge of various kinds of specialized rescue missions. The military constitutes an important part of the national-level nuclear emergency rescue force, and fulfills the mission of aiding local nuclear accident emergency response actions, and, as such, has scored brilliant achievements in building up its nuclear emergency response capabilities. To cope with possible severe nuclear accidents and on the basis of the available capabilities, China is to form a national nuclear emergency rescue team composed of over 300 people to be mainly responsible for undertaking unexpected rescue missions in serious nuclear accident scenarios and emergency treatment tasks, and stand ready to take part in international nuclear emergency rescue operations.
Building provincial-level nuclear emergency rescue forces. Nuclear emergency response forces have been established at the provincial (regional and municipal) levels in areas where nuclear power stations are sited, including nuclear emergency command centers, emergency radiation monitoring networks, medical treatment networks, meteorological monitoring networks, decontamination points, evacuation roads and shelters for evacuees, along with specialized technical support and rescue task forces, thereby basically meeting the nuclear emergency preparedness and response needs of the involved regions. Each provincial (regional and municipal) nuclear emergency command center is connected with the nuclear installation(s) within its jurisdiction.
Building a nuclear emergency response force on the part of the operators of nuclear installations. In accordance with national requirements and following international standards, operators of nuclear installations in China have set up their own nuclear emergency response facilities and forces, including emergency command centers, emergency communication facilities, and emergency monitoring and consequence evaluation facilities. In addition, emergency facilities, equipment and instrumentation, such as emergency power supply, are in place. On-site rescue teams specializing in radiation monitoring, accident control, decontamination and cleansing have been established. Corporations controlling operators of the respective nuclear installations have set up a mutual support collaborative mechanism to form nuclear emergency response resource reserve and deployment assistance capabilities, thereby ensuring mutually complementary support and coordination.
In accordance with the principle of versatile compatibility and based on their respective duties and responsibilities, government departments at different levels in China have established and reinforced their respective capability systems to serve and safeguard nuclear emergency response activities commensurate with the tasks established under the National Nuclear Emergency Plan.
In accordance with the nuclear emergency response plans worked out by the national and provincial (regional and municipal) authorities and the operators of nuclear installations and within the institutional framework of the national nuclear emergency response system, various levels and categories of nuclear emergency response forces ensure unified deployment and interactive mobilization to jointly undertake tasks associated with nuclear accident emergency situations.