WNU course concludes in China

The annual World Nuclear University (WNU) short course in China closed this week, with 200 participants from all over the country attending. After five years in Beijing, it was held for the first time in southern Guangdong province.

The annual World Nuclear University (WNU) short course in China closed this week, with 200 participants from all over the country attending. After five years in Beijing, it was held for the first time in southern Guangdong province.

This year's venue was the Changwan Nuclear Power College, run by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC) at the Daya Bay nuclear power plant site near Shenzhen. With six reactors in operation and 15 under construction, CGNPC has a huge requirement for highly qualified staff. Accordingly, it has established a training effort spanning five departments and is taking on 1000 university graduates this year alone.

The WNU course, entitled 'Key Issues in the Nuclear Industry Today', aims to increase awareness of the full range of nuclear subjects amongst staff that are often very specialised. The three-day course covers 17 areas including international supervision, certificates and standards, emergency response, fuel, waste treatment, project finance and nuclear technologies. On behalf of WNU, the World Nuclear Association deputy director general, Steve Kidd, said "This is the 25th such course we have organised around the world since 2007 and over 2800 people have so far participated."

The opening address was given by Xia Linquan, deputy general manager of China Nuclear Power Engineering Company, with short speeches by each of the organising partners - WNU, Tsinghua University and the China Nuclear Energy Association. The course took in visits to the operating Daya Bay and Ling Ao reactors and to the Areva EPR units under construction at the Taishan site.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News