Although the government is aiming for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant to start commercial operations by 2015, this could be delayed to 2018 or even 2020 if the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) pushes its demand that Taiwan Power Co conclude its safety research prior to installing fuel rods, the Yenliao Anti-Nuclear Self-Help Association said.
Association secretary-general Yang Mu-huo (楊木火) said he had sent a letter to the council last year expressing his concern about safety measures at the nuclear power plant, currently undergoing construction in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), in the event of an earthquake or tsunami.
The council responded in a letter that it would ask Taipower to conduct a study on the effect on an earthquake or floods on the three operational nuclear power plants, using the standards and regulations laid down by the US Atomic Energy Commission, and that the research should be completed before Taipower could start installing fuel rods into the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant’s reactors, Yang said.
However, the council disputes Yang’s claims.
In a press conference on Feb. 23, AEC vice chairman Chou Yuan-ching (周源卿) said the council had asked Taipower to conduct research on ancient tsunami deposits around the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant site, but “the research was not made a prerequisite to the installation of fuel rods into the reactors.”
Yang said Chou’s comments contradicted the information that he received from the council.
“The letter [from the council] said that the research would also include historic tsunamis and that the research would be concluded by the end of March this year,” Yang said.
However, Taipower has yet to commission any groups for the research and analysis, he added.
Although the National Science Council conducted research in 2011 on how tsunamis might affect Taiwan, it was a rough analysis based on data from submarine faults and did not include an analysis of statistics relating to historic tsunamis, Yang said.
The Yaeyama tsunami that occurred near the Ryuku Islands in 1771 and the Keelung tsunami in 1876 showed that tsunamis pose a threat to Taiwan, Yang said.
Every day that the research is delayed, doubts about nuclear safety will persist, Yang said, adding that the government should pressure Taipower to start the research as soon as possible.
It would take two or three years to complete the study, and there are potential difficulties, such as a lack of experts to conduct this type of research, Yang said.
Such a study also requires researchers to drill samples from rocks around the plant site.
Researchers will also have to obtain authorization from nearby landowners, which could slow completion of the study, he said.
Yang also cited a report by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to the legislature on Jan. 10, in which it said that the tsunami barrier Taipower was building for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant was only 2m high.
The 2m wall, added to the 12m height of the land on which the plant is situated, means the plant would only be able to shield itself — barely — from a 14m tidal wave, Yang said, adding that the tsunami 200 years ago was 24.8m high.
The current plans are not sufficient to offer protection against a tsunami of that magnitude, Yang said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern