Atomic Energy Council (AEC) officials were not entirely convinced by a Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) investigation that concluded there was no safety hazard resulting from a water leak at the 33-year-old Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant. They have ordered Taipower to further investigate the the cause of the leak.
Taipower made the remarks following a report by the -Chinese--language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) -yesterday -saying that water containing radioactive material leaked from a storage tank for spent fuel rods at the nuclear power plant in Shihmen District (石門), New Taipei City (新北市).
Citing Chen Yi-pin (陳宜彬), head of the council’s Department of Nuclear Regulation, the news report said the water leaks were first found in December 2009 at the second of two reactors at the plant. An alarm went off, signaling leaks from the fuel storage water tank at the No. 2 reactor, the report said.
The alarm at the same reactor went off again in March and September last year, January this year and early this month, the paper reported, adding that the alarm also went off five times between August and October at the No. 1 reactor.
Water collected outside the second reactor was found to contain radioactive materials — cesium-137, cobalt-60 and manganese-54 — the paper said, adding that the cause of the leaks was unknown, but Chen thought they could have been from cracks in the tank.
Taipower chairman Edward Chen (陳貴明) told a press conference yesterday that the company had ruled out the possibility that water used to cool down spent fuel rods leaked out through the storage pool and led to radiation leaks, adding that it presented the results from the investigation to the council on March 2.
He said the conclusion was based on findings that the types of radioactivity in the leaked water were not the same as those in the storage pond and that there was a significant decrease in frequency of alerts after cracks near the storage pond were repaired.
“Just because there was a water leak does not necessarily mean that the water was leaked from the cooling water in the spent fuel storage pond,” he said, adding that moisture in the building that houses the spent fuel storage tank could have been from water used to clean the floor.
AEC Minister Tsai Chuen-horng (蔡春鴻), who was also at the press conference, said the council is still undecided on Taipower’s explanation of the incidents.
“We understand that the leaked water was not necessarily from the storage pond, but Taipower failed to explain the exact cause of the leaking,” Tsai said.
Tsai said that while the council was sure that the water leak problem did not result in an immediate danger of radiation leakage as there was only a limited amount of water, Tsai added the council has asked Taipower to find out the cause and address the problem.
At a separate news conference yesterday, Chen Yi-pin said: “Radioactive substances could have been absorbed by the cement structure as they leaked through cracks, hence, even water that leaked from the pool that contains nuclear waste could have level of radiations as low as fresh water, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t contain other substances.”
As nuclear waste from reactors can still be heated and spread radiation, they are usually kept in a tank full of water to cool down with leak detectors underneath.
The detectors, he said, are able to detect radiation in as little as 10 milliliters of water.
“We would accept Taipower’s explanation if no radiation is ever detected from the water, however, radiation could be detectedin in at least one out of 10 leaks,” he said.
Vowing to look into the issue, Chen Yi-pin asked the public to remain clam, echoing Tsai's remarks that leaks of that scale would not cause any harm to the public.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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