The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) yesterday said that it would file a complaint with the Japanese government if Tokyo decides to discharge radioactive waste water from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
It has been eight years since the earthquake and tsunami that damaged the plant, and storage for the 1 million tonnes of radioactive water used to cool the ruined reactors is projected to run out by 2022.
The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co are reportedly mulling a plan to release the waste water into the ocean, drawing criticism from neighboring countries Taiwan and South Korea.
Responding to local media reports about certain Japanese officials supporting the plan, the council said in a statement that the Japanese government has not yet made a formal decision.
However, if Tokyo decides to discharge the radioactive water into the ocean, the council would express its concern through a Taiwan-Japan nuclear power regulation platform, it said.
If the plant’s radioactive water enters the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima’s coast, the polluted water would first be carried by sea currents to the coastline of North America, the council said.
The radioactive waste water would then move southward and reach waters near Taiwan after three to six years, the council said, citing analyses by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Germany-based Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.
By the time the polluted water reached the nation’s coastline, the radioactive pollutants would have been diluted to a concentration of nearly one in 10 thousand, compared with the original concentration, the council said, adding that the water’s radioactive risk would also have been reduced.
“Sea water, beach sand and fishery products in nine ports across Taiwan are regularly sampled to test their radioactivity, without having any abnormal findings so far,” it added.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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