The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union yesterday urged the public to vote against a referendum on activating the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
At a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, union president Liu Jyh-jian (劉志堅) and founding chairman Shih Hsin-min (施信民) called for an end to nuclear power.
The Aug. 28 referendum throws another variable into the nation’s future as a “nuclear-free homeland,” Shih said, referring to a referendum led by nuclear power proponent Huang Shih-hsiu (黃士修) that hopes to activate the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
It also presents an opportunity to make a final decision on the plant, Shih added.
Aside from calling for enhanced safety and accident response measures for the nation’s existing nuclear plants, Shih also urged the public to vote “no” on the measure to keep the nation safe from the threat of nuclear disaster.
Taiwan is small, densely populated and located along the Pacific Rim seismic belt, yet three of its nuclear power plants — two of which are operational — are adjacent to the Taipei metropolitan area with a population of 5 to 6 million within a 30km radius, the union said.
In the event of a nuclear disaster, there would be no way to evacuate residents, nor would there be enough land, materials and personnel to relocate victims, it added.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant and the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen (石門) and Wanli (萬里) districts respectively are the second and third-most dangerous nuclear plants in the world, the union said, also citing a report in Nature that names the plants among the 14 most susceptible to earthquakes.
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