Research On Crisis Response Activities During The Construction Of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant

This paper studied the crisis facing the Daya Bay nuclear power plant during its construction process from 1979 to 1994 and the corresponding crisis response activities.Through the analysis of these crises,the answers to the following questions were revealed.When the global nuclear power industry encountered depression after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident,how did the Chinese central government avoid strategic miscalculation and successfully drive China’s civilian nuclear energy industry to start from scratch? After the occurrence of Chernobyl accident,how did the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong government authorities dissolve the public’s anti-nuclear sentiment involving nearly one million people in Hong Kong and enable the Daya bay nuclear power plant project to start smoothly? During the nuclear power plant construction process,how did the Guangdong Nuclear Power Joint Venture company and the local government in Shenzhen handle the loss of steel reinforcement accident,the project delay and other engineering accidents,so as to complete the construction of Daya Bay nuclear power plant satisfactorily?Most importantly,what historical experience and enlightenment can we obtain from these series of crises and the crisis responses activities?Three topics concerning the crisis response during the construction of Daya Bay nuclear power plant project was analyzed: the necessity of this project,the capacity of construction,and the quality of this project.And the three topics corresponded to the discussion in three stages respectively.In the first stage,under the historical background of the beginning of China’s nuclear power industry,the doubts and disputes about Guangdong nuclear power project during the preparatory planning period were explored.For the second stage,during the global anti-nuclear wave after Chernobyl nuclear accident,the causes and consequences of the anti-nuclear movement in Hong Kong on the eve of the construction of Daya Bay nuclear power plant and the wane of the movement were studied.In the third stage,the causes,effects and countermeasures of the engineering crisis after the commencement of Daya Bay nuclear power plant,represented by the loss of steel and the project delay accident,were analyzed.Through the above in-depth analysis,three characteristics of crisis response during the construction of Daya Bay nuclear power plant were concluded: the construction process of Daya Bay nuclear power plant was full of crisis and crisis response;the Chinese central government played a central role in responding to the crisis;the development of nuclear energy was different from other sources of energy because of its particularity,complexity and sensitivity.The construction of Daya Bay nuclear power plant involved a wide range of issues,such as risks,economic interests,international politics,and technology transfer.Hence,the project may run into trouble even with slightly careless.The success treatment of the crisis had not only laid a solid foundation for the completion of Daya Bay nuclear power station,but also made important contributions to the start and development of China’s nuclear power industry.Furthermore,China had gained experience in conducting international cooperation in the high-tech field of nuclear energy.