The first unit, Taishan 1, entered commercial service in December 2018, but was shut down from July 2021 to August 2022 to investigate and fix issues with fuel rod cladding.

[8] Areva (more specifically its subsidiary Framatome, which is now independent) was contracted to develop the nuclear island (including reactor) and supply fuel for 15 years, as well as providing technology transfer and engineering services.

[9][10] In December 2017, Hong Kong media reported that a "boiler" had cracked during testing, and that welding on the component was considered "problematic".

Neither the nuclear plant's operators nor the manufacturer of the affected component responded to the news agency's request for comment.

[19] On March 2, 2021, the Chinese NNSA reported that a "level 0" incident occurred on February 21, which triggered an automatic emergency shutdown (a SCRAM) of Unit 1.

Post-accident investigation calculated the amount of radioactive release to contribute to 0.00044% of annual limit, well within safety parameters.

Further details provided by Framatome revealed that the issue was build-up of xenon and krypton inert fission gases in the primary circuit of Taishan 1, potentially from a leak in a fuel rod housing.

[23] On June 15, Japan reported that its radiation monitoring posts, the closest of which is at Yonaguni Island, did not measure any "abnormalities in data".

CGN stated there had been no release of radiation from the plant, and the small increase in the level of radioactivity was confined to the primary coolant circuit.

[27] On 30 July 2021, the plant operator (CGNPC) reported that they have shutdown Taishan Unit 1 for maintenance after lengthy talks with relevant technicians.