The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) is planning to spend more than NT$500 million (US$17.77 million) on early warning, monitoring and research activities focused on the waters around Taiwan, the council said yesterday.
The statement came after Japan on Tuesday last week announced that it plans to release processed wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant into the ocean in several years.
However, the council said that it had made preparations for such a move ahead of Tokyo’s announcement.
Photo: Yang Mian-chieh, Taipei Times
Four years ago, its Radiation Monitoring Center was tasked with monitoring the waters, while a three-pronged strategy would be adopted in the future, the council said.
These would include cooperation with the Ocean Affairs Council to establish an early warning system and the development of monitoring technology to more precisely assess ocean currents, the council said, adding that the measures would cost about NT$128 million and be in place in about one-and-a-half years.
Once that infrastructure is set up, the council would in a four-year program monitor the situation and conduct research, and publish a comprehensive environmental impact assessment, the council said.
These measures would cost NT$400 million to NT$500 million, it said.
The council would also increase the number of offshore radioactivity detectors, it said.
Thirty-three detectors are in operation, and another 62 are to be created by the Fisheries Research Institute before the end of this year, it said.
The council would also seek cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigators, it said.
As China is a member of the international body, it would be difficult for Taiwan to join, AEC Minister Hsieh Shou-shing (謝曉星) said.
The council would try its best to participate in the investigation team and monitor nearby waters, he added.
In case the IAEA rejects Taiwan’s bid, he hopes that the agency would share data from its monitoring operations with the nation, Hsieh said.
Wastewater from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant is to be diluted to 1,500 becquerels of tritium per liter before it is discharged, Hsieh said, adding that it is within the limits set by the IAEA.
The human body would be able to process that amount within one month, he said.
However, a continuous risk assessment is needed, Hsieh said, reiterating that he opposes Japan’s plan.
People who are concerned that fish might contain radionuclides should not consume it, Hsieh said.
In related news, a simulation developed by a team led by Ho Chung-ru (何宗儒), a professor in National Taiwan Ocean University’s Department of Marine Environmental Information, showed that daily discharges of wastewater at the plant would have a 1 percent chance of affecting the waters near Taiwan, while it would take just one and a half years, at the earliest, for it to possibly affect Taiwan’s offshore waters.
The actual spread of the wastewater — including the range and speed — would depend on factors including the location of its release and the climate, the university said.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
RSS