The Nuclear Safety Commission yesterday said that its nuclear security plan includes response measures for drone attacks on the nation’s nuclear power plants, adding that similar scenarios would be simulated during its annual drills.
The commission made the remarks at the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee in Taipei, which was scheduled to review the commission’s budget plan for this year.
Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that on May 16 a fire broke out at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates following a drone attack amid the US and Israel’s war against Iran. She asked whether Taiwan’s nuclear power plants are prepared to respond to such attacks.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The commission’s Nuclear Security and Emergency Response Office Director Lin Chen-hsuan (林貞絢) said that each nuclear power plant annually conducts nuclear security and counterterrorism drills, with drone-related response measures already incorporated.
The government’s nuclear security plans also include emergency response procedures assessing potential scenarios, risks and corresponding countermeasures, Lin said.
All nuclear power plants have emergency response plans and work with local government officials to evacuate residents in the event of a nuclear accident, she said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) and Ko Ju-chun (葛如鈞) inquired about the controversies surrounding the procurement project for an indoor dry storage facility at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春).
Holtec International, a US-based contractor, recently questioned why NAC International, another US-based contractor, was able to secure the contract for the dry storage facility given that its boric acid concentration failed to meet the required standard.
Holtec said Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) lowered safety standards to quickly resume the operations of decommissioned nuclear power plant and urged the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which oversees the operations of Taipower, to investigate the matter.
The commission’s Fuel Cycle and Materials Regulations Office Director Chen Wen-chuan (陳文泉) said NAC also secured the contract for the outdoor dry facilities for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant, in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里), adding that the company’s products are approved by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Taipower’s tender specifications — which required the use of mature products widely adopted by other countries — included safety guidelines for dry storge facilities, Chen said.
Specifications listed in Taipower’s bidding documents meet government safety standards, he added.
Taipower said it has followed government regulations in launching the bid and reviewing contractors, adding that it planned to take legal actions against what it called false allegations about the bidding process.
Separately, the Control Yuan yesterday urged the commission to revisit the emergency response measures before allowing the decommissioned Ma-anshan and Guosheng nuclear power plants to resume operations.
The government oversight branch launched an investigation after an analysis conducted by the National Audit Office in 2023 showed that some emergency response shelters designated in the nuclear disaster protection plans of the governments of New Taipei City, Keelung and Pingtung County were located in areas vulnerable to flooding, debris flows, tsunami inundation, fault lines, volcanic hazards or soil liquefaction.
Should the government decide to resume operations of the two nuclear power plants, risks of compound nuclear disasters would become high considering frequent earthquakes, extreme weather events and aging nuclear facilities, it said.
Although the commission said that it has assisted local governments in planning evacuations in case of a nuclear disaster, they are likely to encounter situations not included in the emergency response plan, the Control Yuan said.
It cited the earthquake on Japan’s Noto Peninsula in 2024, saying that damaged roads and unusable assembly points hampered evacuation efforts.
In the event of a tsunami, coastal areas and ports could also become unusable, disrupting land and sea transportation, it added.
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