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Nuclear plant can
self-destruct: Ma
‘MAJOR PRECAUTION’: The president said safety at
the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant was enhanced by a system that can destroy the
plant to prevent radiation leak
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended his administration’s efforts to
ensure the safety of nuclear power plants, citing major precautionary measures
at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District
(貢寮) that include destroying the plant if necessary to prevent a nuclear
disaster.
Ma, during a meeting with a group of Japanese academics and engineers in the
Presidential Office, said the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear
power plant has prompted Taiwan to examine the reasons behind the disaster and
enhance the safety measures at its plants.
At the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, Ma said a system was
established to destroy the plant if a disaster is about to happen.
“We can destroy the whole plant to avoid radiation leaks if the situation is
about to go out of control. We firmly believe that no nuclear power should exist
without nuclear safety,” he said.
Ma said that such a measure, which could be completed in 46 minutes, showed the
government’s dedication to strengthening safety measures at nuclear power
plants, as it continues its efforts to steadily reduce the use of nuclear power
and eventually build a nuclear-free homeland.
Of the nation’s electricity supply, 40 percent comes from fossil fuels, 30
percent from natural gas and 18.5 percent from nuclear power. The rest is
supplied by alternative energy sources.
Japan and Taiwan share the problem that most of their energy resources are
imported, and the two nations cannot give up any energy resource, he said.
The construction of the plant has sparked waves of protests from anti-nuclear
activists. The Ma administration has been pushing for the continued construction
of the plant, while promising that the government would allow the public to
decide via a referendum whether the construction should continue.
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