Taishan Nuclear Power Plant has bone of contention between China, US and France after a French nuclear firm Framatome, last month, sought US’ support to asses a report of leak at the the nuclear plant.  

Releasing a statement on Monday, the French firm said it was working to resolve a “performance issue” at a plant it part-owns in China’s southern Guangdong province following a US media report of a potential leak there, according to AFP.

Framatome, warned of an “imminent radiological threat” and claimed that Chinese safety authority was raising the acceptable limits for radiation outside the facility in order to avoid having to shut it down.

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China denied the claim and now Biden administration believes the facility is not yet at a “crisis level,” one of the sources told CNN.

The operator of the power station, state-owned China General Nuclear Power Group, said in a statement on Sunday evening that “the environmental indicators of Taishan Nuclear Power Plant and its surroundings are normal”.

It did not reference any leak or incident at the power station, which it said meets “the requirements of nuclear safety regulations and power plant technical specifications.”

AFP did not get any immediate responses to requests for comment from the Chinese foreign ministry or the Chinese nuclear power group

The Taishan plant was the first worldwide to operate a next-generation EPR nuclear reactor, a pressurised water design that has been subject to years of delays in similar European projects in Britain, France and Finland. It started working in 2018.

China has 47 nuclear plants with a total generation capacity of 48.75 million kilowatts — the world’s third highest after the United States and France — and has invested billions of dollars to develop its nuclear energy sector.