The Control Yuan today urged the Nuclear Safety Commission to evaluate response mechanisms and move response sites from hazard-prone areas, after its investigation found that the risk of nuclear disaster may be higher than in the past.
The investigation comes as the government has begun the approval process for restarting the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春), reversing Taiwan’s nuclear-free status.
The Control Yuan today said that disaster risks may have increased due to the unpredictability of earthquakes, an increase in extreme weather events and the age of the plants.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
After the National Audit Office found that some nuclear emergency response sites are in areas prone to flooding, landslides and other hazards, Control Yuan members Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲), Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and Shih Chin-fang (施錦芳) conducted an investigation.
In their report, the members urged the commission to carefully review emergency response mechanisms, drawing on international experience and anticipating different types of disasters, as well as supervise local governments in drafting evacuation plans.
Nuclear accidents are often compound disasters that unfold beyond expectations, the report said.
For example, after the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Japan on Jan. 1, 2024, evacuation efforts were hampered by damaged roads and unusable gathering points, it said.
As infrastructure damage and tsunamis may affect land and sea transportation, emergency response sites should be located away from hazard-prone areas as much as possible, it said.
The National Audit Office used a 2023 report submitted by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) and the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction's 3D Disaster Potential Map to analyze the location of emergency response sites.
It found that some sites designated by the governments in New Taipei City, Keelung and Pingtung County were in areas at risk of flooding, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic hazards or soil liquefaction, or along tectonic fault lines.
Taipower, the commission and local governments said they would continue preparedness measures based on emergency response plans used during the plants’ operational period, the Control Yuan said.
They also strengthened mechanisms following Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster, it said.
However, it remains unknown whether those measures would be sufficient to respond to a sudden nuclear accident, it added.
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