Chinese Union of Professional Civil Engineer Associations director Tsai Jung-ken (蔡榮根) called on President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration to seriously address nuclear power safety in Taiwan following an explosion and radiation leak at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the powerful earthquake that hit Japan on Friday.
Crisis management standard operating procedures should be re-evaluated for nuclear power plants in Taiwan, Tsai said, adding that if needed, the power plants should be temporarily shut down for reinforcement of structural integrity and machine safety.
The structural safety of power plants is a matter of great concern for many people, he said.
Taiwan’s Jinshan and Guosheng nuclear power plants are located near a fault line in the Jinshan (金山) area of the Taipei basin, while the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant is less than 2km from the Hengchun fault.
Following an assessment by the Central Geological Survey conducted last year, both fault lines are believed to be seismically active.
If Taiwan experienced anything like the magnitude 8.9 earthquake that hit Japan, the results could be devastating, Tsai said.
The Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant — Taiwan’s first ever nuclear power plant — and the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant were built around the same time and use the same machinery, Tsai said. However, while the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant implemented preventive measures in 2007, power plants in Taiwan are 30 years behind on following quake-resistance standards.
Following the 2007 Niigata earthquake, the Japanese government raised the bar on quake-resistance standards from 0.4G (gravitational velocity) to 0.6G and initiated structural reinforcement work. Still, those measures were inadequate to prevent damage and radiation leakage at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, Tsai said.
By comparison, for more than 30 years, the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant, in Shihmen District (石門), New Taipei City (新北市), has operated with quake--resistance standards of only 0.3G, Tsai said.
Although the Guosheng, Ma-anshan and Longmen plants have all increased their quake--resistance standard to 0.4G, Tsai said this still fell short of the standards imposed by the Japanese government at 0.5G.
“If we had moved our power plant to Fukushima, it wouldn’t have survived the quake,” Tsai said.
A nuclear power plant must not only be quake-resistant, but also have preventive measures in case of explosion, Tsai said.
Tsai said coolant was required at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant after the earthquake, adding that lack of coolant following the blackout caused the core to melt down.
“The government should stop paying lip service to calm the people. Instead, try being more transparent with information and work with the people to solve the problem,” Tsai said.
Fourth Nuclear Power Plant Safety Monitoring Committee member Lin Tsung-yao (林宗堯) also expressed concerns.
Lin said the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant currently under construction deserved special attention, as construction was under government supervision and not consultant companies, such as General Electric Co, which has experience building nuclear power plants.
Although the fuel rods for the plant have already been shipped to Taiwan, the plant is still experiencing problems, Lin said.
“Who’s going to take responsibility for problems that might occur when you put in the fuel rods for a test-run?” Lin asked.
Lin said a 0.4G quake-resistance standard for nuclear power plants in Taiwan was not enough to resist strong earthquakes, adding that all the plants should undergo thorough quake-durability tests and inspections.
“It shouldn’t just be done for the reactors, but for all the equipment, including power relays, pipes and lines, even the supports,” Lin said.
Another problem is the government’s swaying attitude between tourism and nuclear safety, Lin said.
Lin said that the Ma--anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was situated near the Nanwan beach resorts, a high-density tourist area, adding that the central government had recently considered amending laws on restricting buildings in the Hengchun Peninsula.
“Population density of the area is having a severe impact on the nuclear power plant’s security zone, which is only about 3km,” Lin said.
The evacuation zone for the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was 20km, Lin said.
The damage ratio in a scenario in which security at the nuclear power plant was comprised would be catastrophic, Lin said, adding that an evacuation of Heng-chun Peninsula would be virtually impossible.
“The government has to weigh the consequences and proceed with caution,” Lin said.
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