Don't underestimate China's nuclear power plants.

Vietnam does not have nuclear power plants, but we are placed in a position where we must have a plan to respond to potential situations arising from nuclear radiation incidents.

Three nuclear power plants built by China near the Vietnamese border have put their first units into operation.

Although nuclear power experts assert that today's nuclear power technology is very safe and the likelihood of a radioactive accident is very small, they also emphasize that this safety cannot be considered absolute; the probability is very small but still possible.

Furthermore, the level of danger and devastating consequences of radiation incidents demand that we have contingency plans in place.

Location of three Chinese nuclear power plants near the Vietnamese border - Source: Thanh Ha - Graphics: Nhu Khanh

Many countries around the world have radiation monitoring networks, so radiation leaks are detected early and timely response measures are implemented.

Experts believe that a national environmental radiation monitoring and warning network should be established soon, as Vietnam is located close to several countries with operating nuclear power plants, such as China, or those planning to develop and build such plants, such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia.

In the very near future, when all three nuclear power plants in Fangcheng, Changjiang, and Yangtze (China) are operating at full capacity, there will be as many as 18 nuclear power generating units located very close to our border.

It should be reiterated that the national environmental radiation monitoring and warning network, which was included in the planning as early as 2006, has yet to materialize due to... a lack of funding.

But even though the State has allocated 1,000 billion VND to invest in a radiation monitoring and warning system, the job is not yet done.

State management agencies, specialized agencies, and scientists should not forget an equally important matter: communities living in areas potentially affected by nuclear power plants must be provided with complete information, advice, guidance on necessary knowledge, and training in methods and skills for handling situations in the event of radiation incidents of varying severity.

With nuclear power plants located within a distance of only 50km, and a maximum of 200km, Quang Ninh and several other northern provinces of Vietnam are in a region requiring appropriate emergency response plans in accordance with the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Of the four zones requiring appropriate incident response plans in the area outside nuclear power plants with a capacity greater than 1,000 MW according to the IAEA, the border provinces of Vietnam fall under two extended planning distances (EPDs) at less than 100 km and the integrated planning distance for goods and food (ICPD) at less than 300 km.

Therefore, in addition to monitoring and warning, we must also develop incident response plans appropriate to the location of the two aforementioned zones, with specific response plans for emergency and dangerous situations caused by radiation incidents, protecting the safety of people, goods, and food...

No one wants bad things to happen, but don't wait until it's too late, especially with nuclear technology, where there's no room for delay, complacency, or even the slightest oversight.

According to Tuoi Tre newspaper