On the evening of Monday, March 25, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), who stands with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in supporting nuclear power, met with Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Keelung Mayor Chang Tong-rong (張通榮) to discuss the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City, and related issues.
According to media reports, Jiang said at the meeting that “it is true that the government does not have a complete plan on how to handle nuclear waste.”
One reason nuclear power plants are so frightening is precisely that “it is true that the government does not have a complete plan on how to handle nuclear waste.”
Although he tried to moderate his statement, Jiang’s inadvertent admission that the government has no plans for the safe handling of nuclear waste will undoubtedly have an impact on the eventual fate of nuclear power plants in Taiwan.
If Jiang had any academic conscience and political morals, what he should have said was: “It is true that, so far, our government does not have a complete plan on how to handle nuclear waste. Not only that, the US, Japanese, Russian or French governments, despite their advanced use of nuclear energy, also don’t have a complete plan on how to deal with nuclear waste.”
There are three levels to this statement. On the first level, by virtue of having nuclear power plants, there will be nuclear waste. This waste is not the kind of poison that will be around for a mere 100 years: It is something we will have to live with for centuries.
Without a complete plan for the handling of nuclear waste, why is there so much talk about “nuclear safety? Does it not mean Ma’s statement that “without nuclear safety, there will be no Fourth Nuclear Power Plant” is just hot air?
On the second level, be it at nuclear waste storage sites on Lanyu (蘭嶼), also known as Orchid Island, or at any of the nation’s other three nuclear power plants, the existing temporary storage sites for nuclear waste are becoming overfull.
Since Ma and his clique have no way of handling the nuclear waste at these sites, how can they go on talking about building a fourth plant and producing more nuclear waste?
Finally, on the third level, at a time when there is no complete plan for dealing with nuclear waste, one wonders what astronomical sums will have to be spent before a solution is found, if ever.
Since it cannot be estimated how deep the money pit of nuclear waste treatment will be, how can Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) go on claiming that “nuclear power is the cheapest” of all energy sources? Does Taipower not include the cost of a final solution for the treatment of nuclear waste in the cost of nuclear energy production?
In short, Jiang’s statement that “it is true that the government does not have a complete plan on how to handle nuclear waste materials” is sufficient to poke a big hole in the balloon of lies about how cheap nuclear energy is.
Chang Kuo-tsai is a former deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
Translated by Perry Svensson
There is a modern roadway stretching from central Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, to the partially recognized state’s Egal International Airport. Emblazoned on a gold plaque marking the road’s inauguration in July last year, just below the flags of Somaliland and the Republic of China (ROC), is the road’s official name: “Taiwan Avenue.” The first phase of construction of the upgraded road, with new sidewalks and a modern drainage system to reduce flooding, was 70 percent funded by Taipei, which contributed US$1.85 million. That is a relatively modest sum for the effect on international perception, and
At the end of last year, a diplomatic development with consequences reaching well beyond the regional level emerged. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state, paving the way for political, economic and strategic cooperation with the African nation. The diplomatic breakthrough yields, above all, substantial and tangible benefits for the two countries, enhancing Somaliland’s international posture, with a state prepared to champion its bid for broader legitimacy. With Israel’s support, Somaliland might also benefit from the expertise of Israeli companies in fields such as mineral exploration and water management, as underscored by Israeli Minister of
When former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office in 2016, she set ambitious goals for remaking the energy mix in Taiwan. At the core of this effort was a significant expansion of the percentage of renewable energy generated to keep pace with growing domestic and global demands to reduce emissions. This effort met with broad bipartisan support as all three major parties placed expanding renewable energy at the center of their energy platforms. However, over the past several years partisanship has become a major headwind in realizing a set of energy goals that all three parties profess to want. Tsai
An elderly mother and her daughter were found dead in Kaohsiung after having not been seen for several days, discovered only when a foul odor began to spread and drew neighbors’ attention. There have been many similar cases, but it is particularly troubling that some of the victims were excluded from the social welfare safety net because they did not meet eligibility criteria. According to media reports, the middle-aged daughter had sought help from the local borough warden. Although the warden did step in, many services were unavailable without out-of-pocket payments due to issues with eligibility, leaving the warden’s hands
RSS