NOTE FOR THE RECORD
нки
166/1
RESTRICTED
*** /
3 0 JUL 1986
711+
tion Taken
Mr Keehe 20/7
24
In Bartay
321 Gr2912 in Hum Garden 24/7
ните
LAL
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT: DAYA BAY POWER STATION: UKAEA CONSULTANCY
1. Mr Yaxley, Secretary for Economic Services to the Government of Hong Kong, met Dr Brian Wade, the UKAEA Officer dealing with the consultancy, and two of his colleagues on the morning of Wednesday, 16 July, in the UKAEA Headquarters. Mr Levey and Miss Windsor were there for the UKAEA, Mr Layden (HKD) from the FCO, Mr Cannon and I attended from the Department.
2. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the consultancy which the UKAEA are carrying out for the Hong Kong Government. It does not purport to be a complete record of the discussion, but to note down some of the main points concerning the second phase of the consultancy.
3.
Mr Yaxley began by describing the political pressures facing the Government of Hong Kong, following the Chernobyl disaster, in connection with the Chinese intention to build a new nuclear power at Daya Bay, some 50 kilometers from Hong Kong, in a direction which would be up wind for half the year. In the face of these real political pressures, the Government had adopted a two-pronged strategy:-
i. to presuade those responsible for the construction of the power station at Daya Bay (principally EDF and Framatome, with the PRC authorities behind them) to be more forthcoming on the risk assessment involved, and on the safety side of the design and construction.
It was important that the constructors answered the doubts expressed in Hong Kong; it was not for the Government of Hong Kong to undertake this;
ii. to ensure, and to be seen so ensure,
as part of the normal responsibilities of a metropolitan authority, that adequate monitoring and contingency plans existed in Hong Kong. The current consultancy by AERE Harwell (which had been set up before Chernobyl) was directed to this end.
4.
This existing consultancy involved five parts. studies of:-
There were
i.
public education (completed);
ii.
iii.
monitoring of radiation (text completed);
risk assessment (a first draft of phase I had been completed);
iv.
contingency planning (first draft now available) and
1