U.S. experts survey China's nuclear plants

BEIJING, May 16 (UPI) -- U.S. officials said they are monitoring nuclear plants in China's damaged earthquake zone for evidence of leaked radioactive materials.

U.S. officials are using spy satellites to survey China's nuclear facilities and have found "no immediate concerns," The New York Times reported.

Hans M. Kristensen, a nuclear weapons expert with the Federation of American Scientists, said radioactive materials could still "be released if there's damage."

When China started constructing nuclear facilities in the 1960s, many were built in remote areas to protect them from armed attacks, the Times said.

Jeffrey G. Lewis, weapons control expert at the New America Foundation, said Pant 821, China's main facility for producing nuclear weapons fuel, is made up of strong military buildings.

He said the facility's buildings "were built as military facilities and so I wouldn't be surprised if, by and large, they came through pretty well."