Securing China’s Nuclear Power Plants

By 2012 China had fifteen reactors in operation with an aggregate installed capacity of about 12 GWe. In addition, twenty-seven reactors, capable of producing a total of 29 GWe, are under construction. While the pace of rapid nuclear development has slowed in the wake of Fukushima, China now plans to grow its total nuclear capacity to 40 GWe by 2015 and 58 GWe by 2020 - making the Chinese nuclear industry by far the fasted growing industry in the world. Whila China has been focusing more on improvements in nuclear safety at its nuclear facilities since the Fukushima accident, it continues to to strengthen nuclear security as well. In particular, the Fukushima accident may increase the interest of terrorists in targeting those power reactors.

Since September 11, 2001, China has substantially advanced its physical protection system, with a switch in focus from the traditional "guns, gates, guards" approach to an effective mixed approach, combining personnel with modern techniques. Then-Chinese President Hu Jintao emphasized at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit that, "In the future, China will further take nuclear security measures, make sure the security of its own nuclear materials and facilities, improve the overall nuclear security." This paper examines the specific and detailed physical protection approaches that are currently applied to China's nuclear power plants, and recommends further steps to improve China's existing nuclear security system.