PRESSURE should be stepped up on the owners of the Daya Bay nuclear station to reveal any problems with its operation, according to anti-plant campaigner and Legislative Councillor, the Reverend Fung Chi-wood.
Following Sunday's incident, he and other legislators are calling again for Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company (HKNIC), joint owner of the station with the Chinese Government, to act responsibly and reveal any problems at the plant.
Mr Fung said the operators' long silence was a source of suspicion in itself.
''This sort of incident is of grave public concern,'' he said. ''It's too late to be finding out the details of the incident a week later. It should not be up to reporters to find things out. They [the operators] should report it themselves directly.'' He said his own questions about plant safety had often gone unanswered by HKNIC.
''People are very worried about Daya Bay and they would feel better if they knew what was going on.'' Mr Fung said the repercussions of a pump shutting off could be dramatic since, without sufficient water running through the reactor, it could become overheated and melt, events which would certainly spark a leakage.
''The safety standards of Daya Bay are not properly guaranteed because China does not have an independent and effective monitoring body.'' Mr Fung is pressing for a Legislative Council sub-committee on Daya Bay. ''We need to have a contingency plan, ways to monitor food and water, give advice to people and advise them about nuclear sheltering.