Former General Motors engineer Yoichi Kikuchi on Thursday questioned the safety of the design of Taiwan’s Fourth Nuclear Power Plant — the Longmen (龍門) plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) — saying it was not as safe as Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) claimed.
The Japanese anti-nuclear power activist raised four main questions about the nation’s fourth nuclear power plant.
He said Taipower adopted outdated geological information about the site on which the nuclear power plant is built.
Photo: CNA
The seismic coefficient, an indicator of a structure’s ability to withstand an earthquake is too low, he said.
The design of the power plant’s advanced boiling-water reactor (ABWR) is flawed, Kikuchi added.
He said that the plant’s safety inspection group failed to see the real problems.
Kikuchi arrived in Taipei earlier this week at the invitation of Green Citizen’s Action Alliance, who tried to apply on his behalf for a visit to the plant.
Taipower rejected the application, saying it was inappropriate that foreigners join local residents informing a group of visitors to the plant.
Kikuchi said the recirculating water cooling system was installed outside the reactor.
Because the energy produced by the reactor would cause the temperature in the reactor to rise, the welded part of the guide tubes would gradually crack because of metal fatigue, damage that occurs when a material is subject to repeated pressure.
If an earthquake occured under those circumstances, the consequences would be unimaginable, he said.
Although Taipower has decided to install a recirculating water cooling system inside the reactor instead, he questioned if anyone would risk being exposed to radiation to maintain the system inside the reactor.
The design of the control rods, which are mounted through the holes at the bottom of the reactors, would cause radiation to leak if the reactor melts, he said.
Kikuchi said that many incidents had occurred with the ABWRs that were in operation in Japan, adding that they have yet to resume operations after being suspended.
In response, Taipower, which runs the nation’s three operating nuclear power plants, said that moving the recirculating water cooling system inside the reactor was not something new, adding that similar procedures have already taken place in Europe.
It said the system’s tubes are less likely to break if they are inside the reactors.
It said that there are holes at the bottom of the reactor for control rods, but it had ensured through multiple testing that this part of the reactor is able to endure pressure as any other part in the reactor.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS