China's central government announced Monday that it is forming a fast-response team to assist in emergencies at civilian nuclear facilities.
Xinhua reported that the 300-person team will be in place by 2015. Its members will be trained and equipped to respond to radiological emergencies, and they will augment four existing technical support centers and six smaller response teams. The new team and construction of a training base will be organized by China's military and a division of its State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. SASTIND also announced that a national-level nuclear security exercise called Shield 2015 will take place next year in Guangdong Province.
China is the world's leader in new nuclear plant development. While the country currently operates 19 units that generate just over 2 percent of its power, it has 29 reactors in varying stages of construction and more planned. All are overseen by the country's National Nuclear Safety Administration.