Members of the Association for Legislative Yuan Journalists visited the yet-to-be-completed Lungmen nuclear power station in New Taipei City April 13.
Nuclear engineers accompanied the 52 reporters on their tour of the Gongliao District facility to answer questions and explain plant operations. Photography was allowed for the first time.
In the building housing reactor one, the journalists saw 872 new fuel rods in storage. According to an engineer, fuel rods that have not undergone nuclear fission present no danger of radiation. Once the plant is in operation, thickened steel plates around the generators next to the reactor will prevent any radiation from escaping into the atmosphere, he said.
In the oceanside pumping station that will supply water to cool the reactors, the engineer pointed out that the seawall can resist a tsunami as high as 8.07 meters. Moreover, in contrast to the design at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi facility, the pumps are indoors and protected by individual watertight gates. “There’s no way a tsunami could affect pumping here.”
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