The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) yesterday said that it would file a complaint with the Japanese government if Tokyo decides to discharge radioactive waste water from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
It has been eight years since the earthquake and tsunami that damaged the plant, and storage for the 1 million tonnes of radioactive water used to cool the ruined reactors is projected to run out by 2022.
The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co are reportedly mulling a plan to release the waste water into the ocean, drawing criticism from neighboring countries Taiwan and South Korea.
Responding to local media reports about certain Japanese officials supporting the plan, the council said in a statement that the Japanese government has not yet made a formal decision.
However, if Tokyo decides to discharge the radioactive water into the ocean, the council would express its concern through a Taiwan-Japan nuclear power regulation platform, it said.
If the plant’s radioactive water enters the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima’s coast, the polluted water would first be carried by sea currents to the coastline of North America, the council said.
The radioactive waste water would then move southward and reach waters near Taiwan after three to six years, the council said, citing analyses by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Germany-based Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.
By the time the polluted water reached the nation’s coastline, the radioactive pollutants would have been diluted to a concentration of nearly one in 10 thousand, compared with the original concentration, the council said, adding that the water’s radioactive risk would also have been reduced.
“Sea water, beach sand and fishery products in nine ports across Taiwan are regularly sampled to test their radioactivity, without having any abnormal findings so far,” it added.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
RSS