By Giulia Petroni 
 

Electricite de France SA on Monday said that it is in contact with state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corp. to discuss data related to the presence of certain noble gases at one of the nuclear plant reactors owned by their joint venture in the Guangdong province in China.

The French utility said it has been informed that the concentration of these gases increased in the primary circuit of reactor number one, which is owned and operated by Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Co.

"EDF has requested the holding of an extraordinary TNPJVC board of directors meeting for management to present all the data and the necessary decisions," the company said.

The news came after CNN reported earlier on Monday that the U.S. government has been assessing a report of a possible leak at the Chinese power plant after receiving an alarming notification from Framatome, a French nuclear-energy company that supports operations at the plant.

The warning included claims that the Chinese safety authority raised radiation limits above safety standards to avoid having to shut down the nuclear plant.

According to the media outlet, which cited U.S. officials and documents, the Biden administration believes the facility is not yet at "a crisis level".

The Taishan Nuclear Power Plant said in a statement published on its website Sunday that "continuous monitoring of environmental data shows that the environmental indicators of Taishan Nuclear Power Plant and its surroundings are normal."

EDF owns a 30% share in Taishan Nuclear Power, while China General Nuclear Power Corp. holds the remaining 70%.

 

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 14, 2021 06:04 ET (10:04 GMT)

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