Taiwan Power Co (Taipower,
Since it is the first case worldwide, and the control rods are considered the most important item necessary in stopping the operation of a nuclear reactor, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC, 原子能委員會) immediately halted the operation of the No. 2 nuclear reactor.
Control rods are used to control the rate of the nuclear reaction and to prevent the fuel rods from being overheated or melting down. According to experts, it might be difficult to insert a damaged control rod into the reactor to control heat production.
According to Taipower officials, the No. 1 nuclear reactor at the plant -- located in Taipei County -- and two other nuclear reactors at the First Nuclear Power Plant (核一廠) -- also located in Taipei County -- are using the same control rods. The other three nuclear reactors, therefore, might have the same problem.
Taipower officials, however, yesterday said that the electricity output would be insufficient if they had to immediately shut down the First and the Second Nuclear Power Plants.
The company is to check all the control rods during the three nuclear reactors' routine maintenance.
According to Taipower officials, the control rods were newly changed and had been shipped to Taiwan from a General Electric plant in the US last year. As such a case has never happened before, Taipower immediately contacted General Electric.
"All nuclear power plants worldwide using GE's D230 control rods might need a safety check," Taipower officials said.
According to officials, nuclear power plants inside and outside Taiwan seldom check their control rods since the rods are considered extremely safe. Workers at the Second Nuclear Power Plant accidentally found the cracks through a monitor during routine maintenance.
Taipower officials said that the company might need two to three weeks to fix the control rods.
Because the electricity output of the Third Nuclear Power Plant (
Recent incidents have also brought to light a history of carelessness at Taiwan's nuclear facilities.
On March 2, workers installing fuel rod assemblies into a reactor at the First Nuclear Power Plant almost installed a damaged fuel rod there. Experts said that if workers had installed the damaged rod and had started the reactor, it might have caused the reactor to malfunction.
Later, on March 18, a fire broke out at the Third Nuclear Power Plant, leaving two electricity generators out of commission and severely cutting the plant's output.
The accident was considered the most serious nuclear incident in Taiwan's history. Luckily, the fire did not cause radiation leaks.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and