At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office
Thursday, experts pointed out that surface cracks in the Three
Gorges Dam don't affect its safety and that there is nothing to
worry about.
"Generally speaking, there are different types of dam cracks.
Embedded cracks are one kind that might destroy the concrete
structure, and accordingly cause safety problems. Fortunately, we
don't have such cracks in Three Gorges dam. Another kind of crack,
which is shallow and slight, only exists in the surface of the dam.
We've found this in the dam," said Pan Jiazheng, head of the expert
team under the Three Gorges Project Appraisal Team and member of
the expert team of the Three Gorges Project Construction Committee
(TGPCC). Pan is also a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
and Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Pan explained that lots of reasons contributed to the dam cracks.
For example, in the building process, the concrete surface of the
Three Gorges dam was not well protected in the winter, or that
sharp parts of the dam easily cracked being a design problem. He
pointed out that the cracks in the surface of Three Gorges dam
didn't affect the dam's safety. But these surface cracks at inner
parts of the dam should be well handled, for water can infiltrate
through the dam. Currently, these cracks have been carefully dealt
with in case of penetration after water storage.
At
10 am June 12, the State Council Information Office held the press
conference. Vice director of TGPCC Guo Shuyan and Pan Jiazheng
introduced the latest news about the project, and answered
correspondent's questions.
(China.org.cn June 12, 2003)