Nuclear rescuers readied for 2018

China plans to have completed the assembly of a national nuclear emergency response team by the end of 2018, an official overseeing the nation's nuclear power industry said.

The team will have 320 professionals in six squads and will be designated to handle serious nuclear accidents and take part in overseas operations, Wang Yiren, deputy director of China Atomic Energy Authority, told reporters on the sidelines of a plenary conference of the National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Commission that was held in Beijing on Tuesday.

"The work to establish the team has begun, and the government plans to invest around 600 million yuan ($91.6 million) in it," Wang said, adding that the six squads will be responsible for command and technical support, handling emergencies, engineering work, monitoring, and radiation prevention and decontamination.