China to form nuclear emergency rescue team before end of 2018

China plans to have assembled a national nuclear emergency response team of around 320 members before the end of 2018, an official said Tuesday.

The team is being put together with the backing of the military and the nuclear industry and will operate both domestically and internationally as required, Yao Bin, head of the nuclear emergency and security division under the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) told a meeting of the National Nuclear Accident Emergency Coordination Committee.

The team will comprise six units -- command, coordination and technical support; emergency rescue; engineering rescue; emergency monitoring and radiation protection; decontamination; medical aid.

Addressing the meeting, Xu Dazhe, head of the SASTIND, called for upgrading the nuclear emergency strategy.

During the 2011-2015 period, China issued a white paper on nuclear emergencies and came up with 50 nuclear safety rules, regulations and legal documents, while setting up eight technical support centers, 25 rescue units and three training bases.

Other progress included development of a national nuclear emergency monitoring network and improved rescue procedure.

Over the next five years, capabilities will be improved and a suitable national nuclear emergency system will be completed, according to the meeting.

(APD)