Anonymous EDF spokesman: We are not in a scenario of an accident with a melting core.

We are not talking about contamination, we are talking about controlled emissions.

This is what strikes me as telling of a desperate coverup:

EDF Energy confirmed that gases that had built up in a component of the plant were deliberately released.

A spokesperson said this was because of a fuel rod problem.

"We are not in a scenario of an accident with a melting core," an EDF spokesman who did not want to be named told AFP news agency.

"We are not talking about contamination, we are talking about controlled emissions."

The facility's Chinese part-owner, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group, refuted claims of a leak on Monday. (Emphasis added)

So, it's a fuel rod problem, OK, we got that.

But this is pure doublespeak: "We are not talking about contamination, we are talking about controlled emissions." As if emissions cannot be contamination. As if releasing these emissions on purpose (to prevent an explosion or meltdown?) somehow means they don't qualify as contamination.

The fact that the French partner admits a leak while the Chinese partner denies it is bad news. So much for transparency.

But then there's this near the end, which is very interesting:

The region has faced power shortages in recent weeks due to hot weather and lower than normal hydropower supplies from Yunnan province.

China is in the process of ordering Bitcoin miners to close up shop. See:

China's cryptocurrency-mining crackdown spreads to Yunnan in southwest - media

The Chinese are claiming that this move is in part due to energy use, but also due to the fluctuating nature of Bitcoin (and, one presumes, because Bitcoin will compete with there new digital Yuan.)

But it appears that the real reason for this crackdown is mainly because China is facing an energy crunch. But it gets more interesting. Part of the reason China is facing an energy crunch is it's trade war with Australia, from whom it is now importing less coal and LNG.

So this all demonstrates the extent to which the global economy is just that, a global economy in which events in one country directly affect another.