China to monitor radiation in drinking water around nuclear plants

BEIJING - China's local health authorities have been told to launch a system of checking drinking water around the country's nuclear power plants for radiation.

The monitoring will cover areas within 30 km of plants that are both in operation and under construction, according to a national working plan for drinking water monitoring in 2012, which was published on the website of the Ministry of Health on Tuesday.

The document also specified that the plants will include the operating Tianwan nuclear power plant in Jiangsu province, Qinshan plant in Zhejiang, Daya Bay and Ling'ao nuclear power stations in Guangdong, as well as those under construction in Zhejiang, Liaoning, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan provinces.

The plan asked the authorities to consider both natural radiation conditions and artificial radioactive matters that may have leaked from the nuclear power plants in the nuclide analysis if the monitoring finds elevated levels of radiation.