Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) said yesterday that North Korea should provide it with an exclusive nuclear waste dump in line with international requirements to facilitate the enforcement of a disposal contract between the company and Pyongyang.
Taipower was responding to a South Korean news report that Pyongyang has threatened to take it to an international court if the company fails to deliver nuclear waste to North Korea for permanent disposal by the end of June.
The company signed a contract with Pyongyang through a private broker in January 1997 that allows it to ship up to 60,000 barrels of low-grade radioactive waste from its three nuclear power plants to North Korea for permanent disposal. But the contract has not been implemented due to strong opposition from South Korea and international environmental groups.
According to the news report, Pyongyang's national nuclear security supervisory commission recently sent a letter to Taipower protesting the delay and describing the company's complaint that the North Korean facility is flawed as an "excuse."
The commission reportedly said that the storage facility had been completed long ago and that North Korea has remodeled two military ships to deliver the waste.
A Taipower spokesman said the contract does not defined a time-frame and it clearly stipulates that it will not take effect until both governments agree to all the terms.
"In other words, the contract will be implemented only after our government issues an export permit and the North Korean government issues an import license," the spokesman said.
While Pyongyang has issued an import permit, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) has yet to issue an export permit to Taipower.
"The AEC has expressed the hope that North Korea will provide Taipower with an exclusive storage facility that meets international safety requirements for nuclear waste disposal," the spokesman said.
According to international regulations, nuclear waste should not be stored in the same facility with other waste. The Taipower spokesman claimed that the North Korean facility does not meet this standard, but he did not elaborate.
Taipower has been seeking a location to store its low-grade nuclear waste as its contract to use Orchid Island as a nuclear waste dump expired in 2002.
Taipower has signed a contract with Russia to treat its low-level radioactive waste, but environmental issues have also dampened plans to ship its the waste to Russia.
Taipower has been evaluating 11 possible sites in Taiwan for a new storage facility but no decision has been announced.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers
RSS