Authorities in Chinese cities try to reassure public over nuclear fuel reprocessing plant
Authorities in Lianyungang arrest man for spreading false rumours while city government in Zhanjiang insists site will not be built there
Provincial governments in Jiangsu and Guangdong have sought to quell public fears over plans for a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant after residents accused officials of disregarding the health risks.
Authorities in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province charged a man with disrupting social order after he allegedly spread a rumour on social media that city workers were preparing to go on strike over the issue.
In Zhanjiang in Guangdong, an official said the plant would not be built in the city, Caijing magazine reported.
Lianyungang and Zhanjiang were two of six candidates for the joint project with France, according to a statement posted on August 6 by China National Nuclear Corporation Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing, a subsidiary of the state-owned giant.
According to CNNC’s website, the plant would be the biggest project yet between China and France, and would be built by CNNC using technology from Areva, France’s state-owned maker of nuclear reactors.