The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant “cannot be and must not be” made operational, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said on Thursday, despite a looming national referendum on the issue.
Su categorically ruled out the possibility of using the mothballed plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮), Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) quoted him as saying at a weekly Cabinet meeting.
Su was briefed on the facility by Hsu Yung-hui (許永輝), head of Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) Nuclear Power Division.
Photo: CNA
The plant was last sealed in 2014 by then-president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration amid rising public concern over the use of nuclear power, prompted by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, which was triggered by a devastating tsunami following an earthquake.
“Based on the report and figures provided by Hsu, there is no way the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant can be restored to its previous condition,” Lo said, citing comments by Su at the meeting.
One of the two generators at the plant is a mixture of components, while the other is incomplete, Su said.
A total of 1,777 items that are part of the No. 1 generator were taken from the No. 2 generator, and many failed safety tests, including rescue systems and reactors, Su said, adding that this was why the government agencies involved were censured by the Control Yuan in 2003.
At the same time, a construction license for the plant expired late last year, with the team in charge of building the facility being dismissed.
The warranties for a lot of equipment have expired and some equipment is no longer being produced, he said.
On top of that, Taipower on Sunday last week shipped 120 unused fuel rods, the last batch of 1,744 at the mothballed plant, back to the supplier in the US, he said.
That was carried out in compliance with a legislative resolution passed in January 2018 that required their return to General Electric Co to obtain some return on the assets, he said.
An investigation by the Central Geological Survey in 2013 confirmed that the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is built on several fault lines, including a 2km-long fault directly underneath the facility, which poses a huge safety risk, Su said.
“Under such circumstances, it is impossible to resume construction of the plant,” he said.
The premier also focused on the issue of handling radioactive waste.
“I asked local government heads and they all opposed the operation of the plant, and no city or county is willing to store the nuclear waste,” he said.
Regardless of party affiliation, cities and counties across the country prioritize safety as their sole concern when addressing the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, which reflects the consensus reached by the public, Su said.
Su asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Atomic Energy Council to provide the public with more detailed information on the current condition of the facility and the thorny issues facing nuclear power.
A national referendum on activating the plant is to be held on Aug. 28. It was launched by nuclear power advocate Huang Shih-hsiu (黃士修).
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