Inspections at Taiwan’s three operating nuclear power plants show safety designs and disaster management procedures to be adequate in case of emergencies, the Atomic Energy Council said May 30.
The assessments of the two plants in New Taipei City in the north and one in southernmost Pingtung County are part of the AEC’s response measures in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear crisis in March, the officials pointed out.
As the Fukushima accident exceeded the risk management capacity of the Japanese power station, “we have also taken a closer look at the adequacy of Taiwan’s safety procedures in the event of emergencies beyond the plants’ design specifications,” they said.
The AEC said it has instructed Taiwan Power Co., which is in charge of running the three power plants, to enhance the facilities’ abilities to withstand extended power outages and natural disasters such as tsunamis, mega-quakes and flooding.
Taipower is expected to purchase more power generation equipment and install backup power supply and cooling systems, among other measures, the officials explained.
“In particular, Taipower has mapped out a set of guidelines that will lead to the peremptory shutdown of a nuclear plant when all existing measures fail to work,” they added.
The officials said the AEC will continue to monitor development of the Fukushima nuclear incident and review its measures against new international guidelines.
