Aging nuclear facilities are becoming a serious issue across the world. By 2050, more than 30 nuclear reactors in the EU will have reached their retirement age and decommissioning them is expected to cost 250 billion euros (US$299 billion).
Taiwan has six operational nuclear reactors. In the aftermath of nationwide power outages last month, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration maintains the goal of phasing out nuclear power by 2025 — Article 95 of this year’s amendment to the Electricity Act (電業法) — and is preparing to switch off the first of the nation’s nuclear reactors in December next year.
On June 28, the Atomic Energy Council approved the decommissioning plan submitted by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) for the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門). Late last month, local consultations were conducted in Shihmen and other neighborhoods.
However, public-stakeholder engagement in the decisionmaking process on the decommissioning of nuclear facilities should not only be a box-ticking exercise: They are an opportunity to reflect on environmental sustainability, nuclear waste storage and financing models for decommissioning practices.
Over the past decade, the British nuclear power sector has made significant progress toward a more open and transparent approach to public engagement, while the government has become increasingly aware that technical expertise alone is not sufficient to justify waste management solutions to a wider audience. They cocreated a high-level strategy in 2013, titled “The UK’s Nuclear Future,” to underline the importance of public engagement.
Reviewing the UK’s and other European nations’ latest nuclear decommissioning experiences, Taiwan might distill some elements of good practice for public participation during decommissioning projects.
These are: governmental acceptance of the value of public engagement; integration of all participation activities under the umbrella of environmental impact assessment; transparent decisionmaking; sufficient information disclosure to the public to facilitate participation; and partnerships with environmental organizations, academic institutions and other stakeholders to support follow-up monitoring and technological research.
Taiwan already has a general regulatory framework for nuclear reactor decommissioning, such as Chapter 3 of the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) and Regulations for the Review and Approval of Applications for Decommissioning Permits of Nuclear Reactor Facilities (核子反應器設施除役許可申請審核辦法).
However, it is still not clear to what extent local participation activities can affect the outcome of environmental impact assessments and the final decision for the decommissioning permit.
The first nuclear reactor decommissioning project should be an important step for Taiwan’s nuclear-free future and a test for its nuclear decommissioning regulations.
While Taiwan is not a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the agency’s Handbook on Nuclear Law sets good external benchmarks and public participation standards.
Enhancing regional or bilateral collaboration on nuclear safety and waste management is also crucial to improving decommissioning performance and domestic regulatory architectures.
Taiwan might need a comprehensive review of the existing nuclear-related cooperative agreements, which were signed with the US, Japan, the Czech Republic and China.
Yang Chung-han is a doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge and a member of the Taipei Bar Association.
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