Premier urges cautious attitude on nuclear power safety
ROC Central News Agency
2011/03/15 12:31:19
By Justin Su, Angela Tsai, Lin Hui-chun and Alex Jiang
Taipei, March 15 (CNA) Premier Wu Den-yih vouched for the safety of Taiwan's nuclear power plants Tuesday, but he said that the crisis faced in Japan in the aftermath of a natural disaster had prompted the government to consider taking more precautions.
Wu said at a legislative hearing that if an advanced country such as Japan could be devastated by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck on March 11, then Taiwan should be "more humble" in reviewing its ability to cope with similar challenges.
The premier cautioned, however, that there were some differences between the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan that is scrambling to prevent a meltdown of one or more of its reactors and Taiwan's facilities.
The Fukushima plant is equipped with third generation reactors, for example, while Taiwan's first plants were built seven years later and use more advanced and safer fourth-generation technology, Wu said.
Also, Taiwan's three operating nuclear power plants were less likely to be hit by a tsunami as they were built on hillsides 12-15 meters above ground level.
A fourth nuclear plant currently under construction in New Taipei City district of Gongliao on Taiwan's northeastern coast is located near the shoreline, however, and the government will make a further assessment of its vulnerability to a tsunami, Wu said.
Amid calls for a temporary suspension of the fourth nuclear plant for an overall review, Wu said that the plant has been rescheduled to begin operations in 2013, one year later than originally planned, to alleviate safety concerns.
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