Full text of white paper on nuclear emergency response

― Tiered arrangements, coordination between the locality and the military. Nuclear emergency involves the central and the local, the military and the government, on-site and off-site, specialized techniques and social administration. Therefore, it is necessary to uphold the principles of uniform deployment and centralized planning, mutual support, mutual coordination, and comprehensive rescue at all times.

― Quick response, scientific handling. When a nuclear accident occurs, all levels of nuclear emergency organizations shall be mobilized at the earliest possible time to rapidly control and mitigate the accident to minimize any impact on the public and the environment. Every effort shall be made to take into account the characteristics and rules applicable to nuclear accidents as the basis for organizing studies and evaluations to enable scientific decision-making, and enforce a full range of response actions in an effective manner, including radiation monitoring, worksite rescue, decontamination and cleansing, radiation protection and medical treatment, and so forth.

III. All-round Promotion of Nuclear Emergency Preparedness

China lays great store by the planning, and legislative/institutional/regulatory systems (known in Chinese as “One Planning plus Three Systems”) associated with nuclear emergency preparedness, and ensures the establishment and full functioning of a national nuclear emergency management system through the safeguards of legislation, institution and regulations.

Strengthening national nuclear emergency planning system building. The National Nuclear Emergency Plan is an action program pre-set by the central government to cope with nuclear accident scenarios. The National Nuclear Emergency Plan lays down a whole set of regulations on the organizational system, command and coordination mechanism, emergency response classification, post-accident restoration actions, and emergency preparation and safeguard measures related to nuclear emergency preparation and response actions. In line with the requirements of the National Nuclear Emergency Plan, governments at all levels and nuclear installation operators must draw up nuclear emergency plans fully in keeping with the National Nuclear Emergency Plan, so as to form a nationwide system of nuclear emergency planning.

Strengthening nuclear emergency legislative system building. China has put in place its own nuclear emergency legal framework, comprising state laws, administrative regulations, departmental rules, national and industrial standards, and management guidelines. As early as August 1993 China put into effect the Regulations on Emergency Management of Nuclear Accidents at Nuclear Power Plants. Since the beginning of this century China has, in succession, enacted the Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Radioactive Pollution and Emergency Response Law of the People's Republic of China, providing regulations and requirements from the legal perspective on nuclear emergency preparedness. In July 2015 the newly revised State Security Law of the People's Republic of China was promulgated, further reinforcing the nuclear accident emergency system and emergency response capacity building to prevent, control and eliminate damage to the life and health of the general public and ecological environment. In keeping with the foregoing laws and regulations, relevant departments of the government have worked out and put into effect their respective regulations and management guidelines, and relevant institutions and nuclear-related industries have drawn up applicable technical standards. The military also has drawn up relevant regulations, and established systems governing emergency rescue actions associated with nuclear emergency preparedness. Currently efforts are being made to push forward the legislative process associated with the Atomic Energy Law and Nuclear Safety Law.

Strengthening nuclear emergency management system building. China implements a nuclear emergency management system featuring unified leadership at the national level, overall coordination, assignment of responsibilities to different levels and emphasis on localized administration. The nuclear emergency management is led and placed under the responsibility of the department designated by the central government. The governments of the province (autonomous region or centrally administered municipality) wherein nuclear installations are located are responsible for nuclear emergency management within their respective jurisdictions. The operator of the relevant nuclear installation and its senior competent authority (unit) shall be responsible for on-site emergency management. Wherever necessary, the central government will lead, organize and coordinate nuclear emergency management at the national level.

Strengthening nuclear emergency mechanism building. China implements a nuclear emergency organization and coordination mechanism featuring leadership by one department and participation by multiple departments. At the national level, a National Nuclear Accident Emergency Coordination Committee has been set up comprising relevant governmental and military departments with the following main responsibilities: implementing state nuclear emergency work guidelines, drawing up national policies for nuclear emergency management, uniformly coordinating emergency activities at the national level, and deciding, organizing and commanding emergency assistance response actions. A National Nuclear Emergency Office has also been set up to undertake the routine work of the National Nuclear Accident Emergency Coordination Committee. At the provincial (regional and municipal) levels, nuclear emergency coordination bodies have been established, and operators of nuclear installations have set up their respective nuclear emergency bodies. At the national and provincial (regional and municipal) levels and within the operators of the nuclear installations, committees of experts or the support organizations thereof have been established to provide advice and suggestions on nuclear emergency preparedness and response.