nuclear-news

Call to close North Taiwan’s aging, degenerating, nuclear power plant

Activists call for shutdown of aging nuclear power plant  following a massive earthquake and tsunami.  Focus Taiwan, By Chen Ting-wei, Lin Meng-ju and Elizabeth Hsu  Taipei, April 20  Concerned about the safety of an aging nuclear power plant in northern Taiwan, environmentalists on Friday called for the suspension of operations at the facility.

Members of several environmental protection groups warned at a press conference that the No. 2 Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli, New Taipei, which began commercial operations three decades ago, “has entered the final stage of its life cycle.”

“The discovery of cracked anchor bolts at one of the power plant’s reactors is the final warning,” said Green Consumers’ Foundation Chairman Jay Fang.

Cracks indicate the degeneration of the nuclear power plant’s structure, operating systems, and parts and components. Allowing the aging plant to continue running would jeopardize the public’s safety, Fang said, urging that the plant be shut down.The reactor where damaged bolts were found has been turned off for repairs and safety checks, but the plant’s other reactor is still running.

To draw the government’s attention to the issue, the environmentalists said they will set up a warning device, called the “Taiwan Doomsday Clock,” in front of the Legislative Yuan …

April 21, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, Taiwan