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.
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
’DISTORTION’: Beijing’s assertion that the US agreed with its position on Taiwan is a recurring tactic it uses to falsely reinforce its sovereignty claims, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said Chinese state media deliberately distorted Taiwan’s sovereign status, following reports that US President Donald Trump agreed to uphold the “one China” policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi urged Trump to retreat from trade measures that roiled the global economy and cautioned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, a Chinese government summary of the call said. China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that the US should handle the Taiwan issue cautiously and avoid the two countries being drawn into dangerous
RSS