Several former directors of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, along with some academics and experts, have launched a petition supporting the extension of the plant’s service life, claiming it has a good safety record. However, the plant has in fact experienced numerous incidents during its 40 years of operation.
On July 7, 1985, less than a year after its No. 1 reactor began commercial operations, a flawed turbine design caused severe vibrations, leading to blade detachment and a hydrogen explosion that sparked a major fire that resulted in a shutdown that lasted one year and two months.
In April 1993, a filter cover in the No. 1 reactor detached due to aging latches, clogged filters, water hammer vibrations and poor design, resulting in 18,927 liters of radioactive wastewater leaking into the South Bay.
In September 1997, a pressure relief diaphragm in the radioactive waste liquid treatment system ruptured, releasing untreated radioactive vapor that deposited on the roof and later washed into rainwater drainage channels.
Between 1994 and 2001, radioactive nuclides were repeatedly detected in drainage ditches near the waste treatment facility.
On March 18, 2001, salt-bearing seasonal sea fog led to an insulator flashover at the plant, causing a ground fault to trip incoming power transmission lines that led to a blackout lasting 2 hours, 8 minutes. The circuit breaker’s insulation failure triggered an electrical fire. Fortunately, the No. 1 reactor was in a low-risk “shutdown” state, averting a nuclear disaster.
The incident was the most severe blackout at a Western light-water reactor at the time, drawing worldwide attention. Taiwan was invited to a regulatory meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency, where the incident topped the agenda.
The Institute of Nuclear Energy Research said the probability of a core meltdown in the No. 1 reactor during the event was nearly 40 times higher than normal. Salt-bearing sea fog is a natural phenomenon that is difficult to prevent.
On June 12, 2009, a corroded internal insulation layer in a transformer resulted in a fire. Three prior alarms were ignored, leading to a reprimand from the Control Yuan.
On April 26, 2015, an aging ceramic sleeve in the No. 2 reactor’s auxiliary transformer short-circuited a ground fault and caused a fire.
The incidents highlight recurring equipment failures due to aging, which would likely worsen with an extension, increasing risks at the plant.
The plant had also long been incinerating low-level radioactive waste at its on-site reduction center. Radioactive substances, such as strontium-90 and cesium-137, had been detected, posing health risks to the public. Control Yuan members Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and Jao Yung-ching (趙永清) called for a review.
Extending the plant’s operation would prolong public exposure to such risks.
During the major maintenance, various mishaps have occurred at the plant, including stuck hex bolts, bolt fractures, a bolt and disc ejecting and injuring a contractor, a bent control rod drive shaft, fuel rod fractures, and foreign objects, such as lampshades, glass thermometers and bolts, falling into the reactor.
Such incidents are just the tip of the iceberg. The plant’s checkered history makes it unworthy of risking lives to extend its service life.
Tsai Ya-ying is an attorney for the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association.
Translated by Fion Khan
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