China's nuclear tech more widely used to benefit livelihoods: regulatory agency

BEIJING -- China's nuclear technology has in recent years been widely applied in many fields of the national economy, bringing tangible benefits to people's livelihoods, according to the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA).

Over 90 experts and scholars gathered at the CAEA quarterly forum on Wednesday to discuss nuclear technology for the benefit of people's livelihoods, covering the current situation and future prospects of nuclear technology applications in China.

According to Dong Baotong, deputy director of the CAEA, nuclear technology is used in many fields such as industry, agriculture, healthcare, environmental protection and security.

"It plays an important role in promoting industrial transformation and upgrading, as well as in improving people's livelihoods," he said.

The forum unveiled 10 major events demonstrating the significant results of nuclear technology applied to the national economy in recent years. Most are in the healthcare field, such as China's first heavy-ion medical accelerator, used in radiotherapy to treat cancer.

According to the forum, nuclear technology has also played an important role in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been used to sterilize medical materials with higher efficiency and better sterilization effect.

Nuclear technology has also been used in space exploration. A research team from the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology, a subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation, has recently discovered a new lunar mineral by means of X-ray diffraction and other nuclear technology analysis methods.

Improving the level of nuclear technology application has become an inherent requirement for the construction of a strong nuclear industry in China, and it is also an important step to promote the high-quality development of the national economy, Dong said.