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Taiwan's nuclear plants pass stress test: experts

ROC Central News Agency

2013/03/15 21:32:50

Taipei, March 15 (CNA) Taiwan's three operating nuclear power plants have passed a stress test conducted by an international team of experts at the invitation of the Cabinet-level Atomic Energy Council (AEC), the experts said Friday.

The AEC, which oversees the plants' operator -- Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) -- invited the experts as a form of independent peer review to conduct the test, the first of its kind on Taiwan's nuclear facilities, to gauge the plants' abilities to withstand seismic activity, flooding and other extreme natural hazards.

The AEC said the testing was part of efforts to continuously assess and enhance the safety of the country's nuclear power plants in the wake of the disastrous meltdowns at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011.

"The implementation of the stress test met the requirements here," said John Nakoski, a nuclear safety analyst at the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the team's coordinator.

The three operating nuclear plants "passed" the stress test, Nakoski said at a press briefing, adding that a pass does not mean all the enhancements that need to be made have been completed.

"They either have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented," he said.

The NEA is a specialized agency within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an intergovernmental organization of industrialized countries based in Paris.

The six experts made the assessment based on meetings with AEC officials and Taipower technicians as well as a national report provided by the AEC and three other reports on the operating power plants. They only inspected visited the second Kuosheng nuclear power plant im Wanli, New Taipei.

The official English-language report will be published on the AEC's official website in one month.

Overall, the experts said in a report that stress tests implemented in Taiwan are consistent with the process ordered by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group.

In addition, enhancements that have been identified are consistent with those identified in other countries, the report showed.

Asked if the nuclear power plants currently in operation could withstand earthquakes and tsunamis as big as those that hit Japan in 2011, the experts said yes and added that the implementation of the enhancements "is seen as a strength."

Katsurori Ogura, a senior counselor at the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization, told reporters that Taiwan's nuclear power plants "could survive," as Taipower has taken many measures to protect the power plants from large-scale tsunamis.

The test came amid increasing concern among the public over the fourth nuclear power plant project. These worries have galvanized opposition to the use of nuclear power in Taiwan, culminating in nationwide anti-nuclear rallies March 9 that drew an estimated 200,000 people.

President Ma Ying-jeou has reiterated the government's commitment to ensure that the fourth nuclear power plant is safe before it is allowed to begin commercial operations.

He proposed that the authorities should seek the help of prestigious experts and agencies "as soon as possible" to clear up doubts over the controversial project.

The AEC said it will invite experts from the European Union to Taiwan in the second half of the year to conduct a safety assessment of the controversial fourth nuclear power plant.

At the same time, the government has proposed to decide the fate of the plant through a referendum, which is expected to be held toward the end of the year.

(By James Lee)