Chinese-built nuclear reactor goes online in Pakistan

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Chinese-built nuclear reactor goes online in Pakistan

BEIJING, June 20 (Kyodo) - 

A Chinese-built nuclear reactor has gone online and was connected to 
Pakistan's power grid last week, a Chinese newspaper reported 
Tuesday. 

The Chashma nuclear power plant in central Punjab is slated to become 
fully operational by the end of this year, according to a report 
issued by the China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC), the official China 
Daily reported. 

The report said CNNC would transfer control to Pakistan once the 
plant stabilizes at full-power operation. 

The newspaper said this is the first full-scale reactor China has 
exported. China has only two operational commercial nuclear power 
plants within the country, though four more are under construction. 

According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), the Chashma 
plant was initiated in the 1970s with French assistance. 

Pakistan's refusal to sign the nonproliferation treaty and adopt 
proper safeguards resulted in the termination of the project in 1978. 


The FAS says the facility is covered by International Atomic Energy 
Agency (IAEA) safeguards. 

But last month a coalition of nine Pakistani environmental groups 
sent Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf an open letter urging him to 
delay the reactor startup until further safety tests had been 
conducted. 

The environmentalists cited problems at China's troubled home-grown 
Qinshan nuclear reactor, which was shut down for more than a year 
from July 1998 to September 1999 to repair faulty fuel rods, the 
Inter Press Service reported. 

Chashma's reactor is based on the Qinshan design. 

China called for extensive inspections of its nuclear facilities 
following the radiation leak at the Tokaimura uranium processing 
facility in Japan last year. 

Islamabad and Beijing signed a bilateral atomic cooperation pact in 
1986. In addition to aiding Pakistan's commercial nuclear power 
industry, China provided technical assistance in the construction of 
the Khushab heavy water reactor, a key element in Pakistan's ability 
to produce weapons-grade plutonium, the FAS says. 

Pakistan detonated its first nuclear devices in 1998. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
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