Joined by new officials opposed to the development of nuclear energy, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is urging the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to consider the possibility of re-conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (
"Several apparent defects of the previous EIA have resulted in continuing controversy over several issues concerning the plant, including waste management and cleaning-up plants that are to be closed in the future," said the administrator of the EPA, Lin Jun-yi (林俊義), yesterday at a press conference.
Lin said that the content of the approved EIA report had been revised by Taiwan Power Corp (Taipower,
Lin said that the original EIA for the nuclear power plant was approved conditionally by Taipower's supervisor, the AEC, in 1991.
"I was one of the EIA committee members, but my warnings at the time about the possible negative environmental impact on coastal eco-systems was entirely neglected," said Lin, who is also a biologist, adding that not all members agreed on the final report.
When the EIA Act (
Defects mentioned by Lin yesterday are actually the same as two censures given by the Control Yuan.
Taipower's changes to the power output of the reactor from 1,000 megawatts to 1,350 megawatts without a new EIA resulted in the Control Yuan censuring seven administrative agencies for failure to follow proper procedures.
Among those were the Executive Yuan, the AEC of MOEA, and the EPA.
The Control Yuan also censured additional governmental agencies for Taipower's failure to meet deadlines set in the EIA report for dealing with radioactive waste generated by other existing nuclear power plants.
"The MOEA must make guidelines to manage not only radioactive waste but also the waste that remains from nuclear plants that have been closed," said Lin, adding that the request had solid legal backing.
EPA officials said that nuclear-related technologies had been only developed in the past 50 years and therefore no efficient strategies have drawn up to deal with closed nuclear power plants.
Several plants in the UK and Germany that have been shut down have been abandoned temporarily, awaiting solutions to the disposal of their radioactive waste stored on site, officials said
The EPA's anti-nuclear stance is getting support from the new deputy administrator who was appointed by Lin yesterday.
James Lee (李界木), 62, an energy expert holding a PhD in environmental science from Greenwich University in the US, will help Lin to adopt environmental strategies, including a top priority -- persuading the MOEA to take into account alternatives to nuclear energy.
Lee, with work experience at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US National Institutes of Health, is no stranger to local environmental movement circles.
Lee has been one of advocates of halting the ongoing construction of the fourth nuclear power plant. As the head of the International Environmental Protection Association (
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique