China and leading Western experts are on the alert against
possible radiation leaks from the Sichuan earthquake as the main
centers for designing, making and storing nuclear arms lie in
the shattered earthquake zone. Chinese Minister of Environmental
Protection Zhou Shengxian (周生賢) convened an emergency meeting
late on Monday, hours after the 7.9 magnitude tremor rocked the
province, and activated the lowest tier of a four-stage system
of ranking radiation leaks, the ministry said on its Web site.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), meanwhile, flew to Mianyang
yesterday, state television and the Xinhua news agency reported,
in an indication the risk was low. But nuclear scientists were
evacuated from the area as a precaution, a source with knowledge
of the evacuation said. The Chinese Academy of Engineering
Physics, also known as the Southwest Institute, in Mianyang is
the primary design laboratory for Chinese nuclear weapons,
according to www.globalsecurity.org. A Western expert with
knowledge of the Mianyang