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China begins nationwide nuclear safety checks after deadly Tianjin explosions

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Chinese workers leave the nuclear power plant in Qinshan, in Zhejiang province, which will be inspected as part of nationwide safety checks. Photo Reuters
China has begun a nationwide safety inspection into all its existing nuclear facilities in the wake of last month’s deadly explosions at a chemical warehouse at the port of Tianjin last month that killed 173 people.
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The inspections will last until November and will focus on the manufacturing and utilisation of nuclear equipment and technology, equipment used at uranium mines, and nuclear radiation risks, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a notice late on Monday.

READ MORE: China under fire in US Congress over proposed new nuclear deal

China is embarking on a rapid nuclear construction programme that aims to raise total capacity to 58 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2020, up from 23 GW at the end of July, and it also has ambitions to build its new reactor designs overseas.

GRAPHICS: Satellite images reveal scale of deadly warehouse explosion in Tianjin

Although none of China’s existing reactors has experienced any serious accidents, the country’s entire nuclear construction programme was suspended in 2011 following the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

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A moratorium on new project approvals until early this year has put the 2020 target in doubt.

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