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Dump Orchid Island waste at sea

The debate on the issue of finding a final repository for nuclear waste has returned to square one since rumors emerged that Tai-power (台電) had been looking into what it should do if its plan to store waste on an islet in Wuchiu (烏坵) township was scrapped. If those in power cannot break out of the mode of thinking that centers on land-based sites, it may be impossible to find a more suitable location due to Taiwan's limited land resources. However, I recommend that consideration be given to the use of semi-marine and marine environments as storage sites. This might prove to be a solution to the problem.

Semi-marine means marine areas that exist between high tide and low tide. Taiwan proper and its offshore islands are small, with population densities that rank among the highest in the world. Finding uninhabited areas that don't have any effect on the surrounding environment is virtually impossible. If, however, "semi-marine" space is taken as a possibility, there can be a breakthrough.

Take Penghu, for example. Penghu is Taiwan's only island county. "Penghu" commonly connotes the more than 60 islets that remain visible at high tide. But over 100 islets in the Penghu marine area become visible during low tide. The question of whether these "tidal islets" can be used as nuclear waste repositories still awaits investigation. If the government can locate a geologically stable tidal islet, "double-bottom" nuclear waste storage ships or reinforced concrete storage containers could be transported to the island at high tide. In addition, Taiwan proper acts as a screen for Penghu, weakening the force of typhoons before they reach the archipelago.

Compared to Taipower's previous plan to dig 500m deep in a Wuchiu islet -- and otherwise carve out numerous tunnels extending in every direction -- placing nuclear waste on a tidal islet is clearly a stable, practicable option.

Apart from this, Taiwan is surrounded by ocean, with a multitude of oceanic trenches, valleys and depressions. Generally speaking, it is difficult for life to survive in underwater depths exceeding 4,000m, due to the high pressure and lack of sunlight and oxygen. At these depths, because of proximity to the earth's core, radiation levels may even be higher than the nuclear waste itself.

If a suitable location is found, using the principle of man-made satellite power (directed at the earth's core) to bury nuclear waste in oceanic trenches, valleys and depressions deeper than 4000m is also something worthy of consideration.

Looking from the perspective of international oceanic law, regarding the issue of international dumping of radioactive materials, in the 21st Consultative Meeting of the London Convention in 1999, signatories discussed the application of standards to the De Minimus (exemption) concept with regard to the dumping of radioactive materials.

At the 21st consultative meeting, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proposed the "Application of Radiological Exclusion and Exemption Principles to Sea Disposal." Among the issues raised were the control and intentional dumping of radioactive waste. The IAEA is drawing up the criteria for special assessment. If a country wishes to dump materials in deep-sea areas based on this special assessment, that country should submit a report to the secretary of the London Convention indicating what assessment standard it is using.

In addition, according to the London Convention's 1996 protocol, on the issue of how to regulate dumping of radioactive waste in the ocean, there was a significant change. Apart from adopting preventative methods and the principle that the polluter pays, with regard to the question of dumping radioactive materials on land or in the sea, the protocol should not be set completely in terms of the nature of the materials involved, but should also assess the environment where materials are being deposited.

In fact, ever since humans have lived on the earth, the ocean has ultimately been the receptacle for human waste products. International law doesn't absolutely prohibit the "safe placement" of nuclear waste in oceanic trenches, valleys and depressions at extreme depths.

When an impasse is reached over the question of where to put nuclear waste, the departments in charge should approach the problem from a different perspective. Academic institutions should be commissioned to conduct geological, hydrological and marine facies surveys and objectively assess the feasibility of dumping radioactive waste in the oceans.

Experts and scholars from the UN, Europe, North America and Japan should be invited to a Taiwan-sponsored international symposium on the dumping of radioactive waste. This would be helpful in terms of analyzing the feasibility of using the oceanic trenches, valleys and depressions near Taiwan and also in in terms of demarcating dumping areas according to international law.

Perhaps an answer will at last emerge from the stalemate.

Frank Yiin is a professor at the Institute of the Law of the Sea at National Taiwan Ocean University.

Translated by Scudder Smith
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