Energy and nuclear safety issues must be addressed in a rational manner so as to ensure better decision making, Way Kuo, president of the City University of Hong Kong, said May 7 during an address at the ROC Presidential Office in Taipei City.
“The question of energy source suitability has to take into account economic well-being, reliability, sustainability and environmental protection,” Kuo said. “It remains a pressing challenge for governments to seek diversified power supplies and optimal allocation of sources.”
According to Kuo, ever since the world’s first commercial nuclear plant began operation 57 years ago in Sellafield, U.K., atomic energy has grown in importance, accounting for 13 percent of all power generated worldwide.
The March 2011 crisis at the Daiichi nuclear power station in Fukushima, northeastern Japan, heightened public awareness in Taiwan of nuclear safety and waste management, as well as alternative energy sources, among key issues, he said.
In particular, an increasing number of citizens now question the government’s decision to continue construction of the Lungmen plant in northern Taiwan due to the facility’s complex design and operating system, he added.
While some compare the station to a kit car, Kuo said, this is not the real problem. “The more important issues are management procedures and whether human errors can be minimized through automatic controls.”
In response to a question posed by President Ma Ying-jeou, Kuo said while global demand for nuclear power has temporarily tailed off in the last two years, most countries continue to strengthen their nuclear infrastructure, with many stepping up development efforts.
Kuo also outlined the latest technology advances in nuclear waste management during his speech, including dry cask storage to reduce temperature and radioactivity of waste, and recycling nuclear fuel to produce plutonium for new reactors.
Taiwan-born Kuo received his bachelor degree in nuclear engineering from Taiwan’s Tsing-Hua University and a doctorate in engineering from Kansas State University. He is also an Academician of Taiwan’s Academia Sinica and a member of the U.S. Academy of Engineering.
