The government could propose separate regulations for high-level radioactive nuclear waste to continue the use of nuclear energy, a source familiar with the matter said.
The reported proposals came as the nation’s three nuclear power plants are approaching their decommission dates.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) in October said the government is “very open” to new nuclear power technology, which was widely perceived as a signal that it would soon revisit the Democratic Progressive Party’s long-standing goal of a “nuclear-free homeland.”
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co
Nuclear waste disposal is one of the main reasons preventing the government from continuing the use of nuclear energy, as local governments were reluctant to have used radioactive materials stored within the limits of their administrative zones.
High-level radioactive nuclear waste refers to the fuel rods in nuclear reactors, whereas low-level radioactive waste refers to other spent nuclear fuel prepared for final disposal or residue produced by its reprocessing.
Currently, the government only has regulations for low-level radioactive waste. While the then-Atomic Energy Council, now the Nuclear Safety Commission, had in 2017 proposed regulations governing the disposal of high-level nuclear waste, the proposal was taken down within one week after it was announced to the public due to nationwide backlash.
Based on Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) plan to dispose of spent nuclear fuel, the review and approval of the sites that would be used to store nuclear waste should be completed by 2028, while geological investigations and tests of the sites, and establishment of an underground laboratory should be completed by 2029.
Sites suitable for nuclear waste are mostly located along the nation’s east coast and outlying islands along the west coast, as the base rock is mostly constituted of granite and crystalline limestone, a source familiar with the matter said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs established an office in May to propose a separate regulation for high-level radioactive waste and to communicate with the public on the issue, which is scheduled to begin operations next year.
The regulations for high-level radioactive waste would be the office’s top priority despite challenges, because the ministry and New Taipei City have resolved differences of opinions on the storage of nuclear waste.
The draft regulations are likely to include compensation for local residents and the organization of referendums at sites chosen for low-level radioactive nuclear waste, a source said, adding that a policy committee formed by environmental groups, officials and experts would review storage sites after technical reviews.
The regulations were scheduled to be reviewed by the Executive Yuan in the third quarter this year, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the government might reconsider the previous plan to build centralized storage facilities to accommodate nuclear waste stored on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) if separate regulations for high-level radioactive and low-level radioactive waste are stipulated, the source said.
Prior to 1996, low-level radioactive nuclear waste was delivered to the outlying island off the east coast to be stored there. The practice stopped, as it was decided that high-level radioactive and low-level radioactive waste would be temporarily stored inside nuclear power plants.
The government had also agreed to relocate more than 100,000 barrels of nuclear waste on Orchid Island to a permanent disposition site, although it had difficulty finding such a location.
In 2019, the government agreed to budget a total NT$2.55 billion (US$77.9 million) as retroactive compensation to the residents of Orchid Island for accommodating the nuclear waste, with payments of NT$220 million being distributed every three years. Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan’s nuclear-free homeland team also agreed that centralized storage facilities should be built to accommodate nuclear waste stored in all three nuclear power plants and Orchid Island, with the project costing more than NT$60 billion.
However, the centralized storage facilities remain temporary facilities, which are designed to function for only 40 years.
Whether building such facilities is still necessary would be a question that the public needs to consider if the government plans to introduce regulations governing the disposal for high-level radioactive waste, the source said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and