New law governs search for nuclear waste site

This article was written by June Tsai and published by the Taiwan Journal on May 12, 2006. It reports that the Legislature recently passed a law that governs what officials can and cannot do in their attempt to locate a storage site for Taiwan's low-level radioactive waste.

According to the law, the government must obtain approval from residents of any area that is considered as a disposal site for the thousands of barrels of low-level radioactive waste currently stored on Orchid Island. As additional waste that are currently generated by Taiwan's three nuclear power plants will be stored at the site as well, residents must decide whether or not they will accept such a storage facility in their area. Such decision must be made before the central government can shortlist the area for final selection.

According to the law, the Ministry of Economic Affairs should form a committee of independent experts and members of related agencies in order to identify potential waste disposal sites. This committee must propose at least two sites prior to final selection.

After the initial list of potential sites is released to the public, all individuals, agencies and organizations may submit their opinions for discussion and debate for a period of six months. During this period of public discussion, the relevant county governments will hold a vote so that their residents can decide if they agree with the proposed locations. If the residents disapprove of the proposal of using a specific area as a site for low-level radioactive waste disposal, then the area cannot be shortlisted again.

According to the law, only areas that are not affected by excessive earthquakes or other geological instabilities can be considered as storage sites for the low-level radioactive waste. Likewise, areas that have been designated as environmentally protected sites should be excluded.

Finally, the law stipulates that the state-run Taiwan Power Co., or Taipower, which is responsible for operating the nuclear waste storage facility, must pay a maximum of US$156.5 million in compensatory remuneration to residents of whatever location that is chosen as the depository for the low-level radioactive waste.

The government has long been trying to establish a regulation that would solve the controversial problem of where to dispose Taiwan's low-level radioactive waste. For more than 20 years, such waste has been stored at a facility on Orchid Island, which is located 42 kilometers off Taiwan's southeast coast.

Taiwan's first nuclear power plant went into operation in 1977. That same year, the government proposed to build a factory to create jobs on Orchid Island, which is inhabited primarily by members of the Yami aboriginal tribe. However, in 1982, when the construction of the facility was completed, it was discovered that it was actually a storage site for low-level radioactive waste. Indeed, since then, Taipower has been storing its nuclear waste there. In 1990, the managerial control of the facility was transferred from the government's Atomic Energy Council to Taipower, on the condition that the waste should be relocated elsewhere by the end of 2002.

Since the 1980s, the Yami people on Orchid Island have been appealing to the government to remove the nuclear waste from the island. They have staged protests and sit-ins in order to let the general public know about their cause. During the 2000 presidential campaign, Chen Shui-bian promised the residents of Orchid Island that if he was elected president, he would have the nuclear waste removed by the end of 2002.

Some people point out that many residents of Orchid Island actually do not mind the storage of nuclear waste on their island. As compensation for putting up with the waste, Taipower provides free electricity and health insurance payments, as well as other monetary compensation, to the residents on the island. If the waste is removed, then few people will be able to afford such amenities.

Other people argue that it is extremely difficult for members of the Yami aboriginal tribe on remote Orchid Island to oppose the government's nuclear energy. Many residents there feel that they have to make compromises because of the social and financial disadvantages they face.

According to Taipower, its waste management personnel have been inspecting and refurbishing the nuclear waste storage bins on Orchid Island since 2003, in preparation for their removal. Of the 97,672 barrels of nuclear waste currently stored on Orchid Island, 8,684 have been inspected and prepared. The task is expected to complete by 2010.