State-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) assured the public yesterday that the nation’s first and second nuclear power plants were safe, after Chinese-language media reports said northern Taiwan could be vulnerable to a major earthquake.
Taipower vice president Hsu Hwai-chiung (徐懷瓊) said that if a quake with a seismic intensity of seven — the highest on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale — struck the north, the power stations would still be intact.
“However, the priority now is to reinforce the piping system to ensure that water could be sent to the reactors within one hour of a disaster triggered by a large earthquake, so that they could both be shut down safely in time,” Hsu said.
He was responding to misgivings about the Sanchiao Fault on the northwestern part of the Taipei Basin, after a recent survey found it to be at least 80km — and possibly even 120km — long, compared with the previous estimate of 40km.
According to Chen Wen-shan (陳文山), a professor at National Taiwan University, if a complete dislocation of the fault occurred, it could result in a magnitude 7.5 to 7.8 earthquake.
Hsu said the piping lines at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant, located in Shihmen District (石門), New Taipei City (新北市), 7km away from the fault, were designed to withstand a “peak ground acceleration” of 0.5G.
If during an assessment on the piping system it is found that the piping cannot meet the standard, the pipes will be replaced or stronger supports will be used, he said.
The Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli District (萬里), New Taipei City (新北市), is 5km away from the fault and has set a goal of withstanding a peak ground acceleration of between 0.5G and 0.6G, he said.
The highest level of seismic intensity on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale generally covers peak ground accelerations greater than 0.4G.
The assessment report on strengthening the piping system would be completed by the end of the year and any necessary work to strengthen the lines would begin early next year, Hsu added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
LUCKY DATE: The man picked the 10th ‘Super Red Envelope’ in a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10 A man who recently broke up with his girlfriend won a NT$1 million (US$32,929) prize in the “NT$20 million Super Red Envelope” lottery after picking a card based on the date of their breakup, Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The man, in his 20s, bought the 10th ticket at a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢), because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10, the store owner told the lottery company. The “Super Red Envelope” lottery was a limited offering by the company during the Lunar New Year holiday, which ended yesterday. The cards, which cost NT$2,000 each, came with
TOURISM BOOST: The transportation system could help attract more visitors to the area, as the line is to connect multiple cultural sites, a city councilor said Residents in New Taipei City’s Ankeng District (安坑) said the local light rail system might have a positive influence, but raised questions about its practicality. The Ankeng light rail system, which is to commence operations after the Lunar New Year holiday, would cut travel time for commuters from Ankeng to downtown Taipei or New Taipei City by 15 to 20 minutes, the city government said. According to the initial plan, there would be one train every 15 minutes during peak time and additional interval trains would run between the densely populated Ankang Station (安康) and Shisizhang Station (十 四張). To encourage people to
CHAMPION TREES: The team used light detection and ranging imaging to locate the tree, and found that it measured a height of 84.1m and had a girth of 8.5m A team committed to finding the tallest trees in the nation yesterday said that an 84.1m tall Taiwania cryptomerioides tree had been named the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia. The Taiwan Champion Trees, a team consisting of researchers from the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), in June last year used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imaging to find the giant tree, numbered 55214, upstream of the Daan River (大安溪). A 20-member expedition team led by Rebecca Hsu (徐嘉君), an assistant researcher at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, set out to find the
RSS