AN EDITORIAL of May 17 calls for more public education for the citizens of Hongkong on the matter of Daya Bay. If the Sunday Morning Post believes that, it can help by printing my actual comments about the Government's plan and my impressions of the May 13-14 exercise to evaluate the implementation of that plan.
The possibility of a serious accident at Daya Bay is quite remote. But the Government has taken its responsibility to protect public health and safety seriously. This concern and commitment was demonstrated by the recent exercise at all levels of Government.
The Government has a specific plan - the Hongkong Daya Bay Contingency Plan (DBCP) - to respond to any incident or accident. It was tested last week in a comprehensive exercise by Government departments.
International practice in the vicinity of nuclear powerplants provides for detailed planning for evacuation and sheltering of the public within 10 to 16 kilometres, depending on the country. In that respect, there are detailed plans for such actions on Ping Chau, about 13 km from Daya Bay.
No country has ever seen a need to develop plans or exercise a capability to evacuate or shelter population, as a result of a nuclear accident, beyond 16 km.
It is common practice, however, to develop a regime that would look at the possible exposure of the public from food or water contamination.
