nuclear-news

Taiwan government downgrades nuclear safety regulator

Cabinet demotes nuclear safety body Taipei Times, 21 Feb 13, SAFE?With the ministerial-level Atomic Energy Council set to be disbanded, the new nuclear safety regulator will be a third-level agency under the Executive Yuan

By Shih Hsiu-chuan  /  Staff reporterDespite mounting public concern, the Cabinet yesterday declared that the agency overseeing nuclear safety would be downgraded from a ministerial-level council as part of an ongoing government restructuring plan.

The Cabinet yesterday approved the draft organic law of the nuclear safety regulatory authority, in which the current regulator, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC), would be disbanded and replaced by a third-level independent agency subordinate to the Executive Yuan. Part of the AEC’s functions will also be transferred to two ministries in charge of economic affairs and energy and technology, as part of the government’s efforts to streamline its agencies.

As a third-level agency subordinate to the Executive Yuan, the nuclear safety regulator would have the same rank as an institution like the Aviation Security Council, according to the Cabinet’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission.

Lawmakers, anti-nuclear activists and even some AEC officials have said that the downgrade would make it more difficult for officials in charge of nuclear safety regulation to coordinate with ministerial-level bodies to ensure nuclear safety……. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2013/02/22/2003555394

February 22, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, Taiwan