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Taiwan wants to extend the life of its oldest nuclear power plant for another 20 years, the government said Tuesday, triggering alarm among activists who fear it could put public safety at risk. State-owned Taiwan Power Company has asked to keep using the Chinshan plant, operational since 1978 in a coastal area of north Taiwan, after the licenses of its two reactors expire in 2018 and 2019, the Atomic Energy Council said. "The application is for extending the life of the plant's two generators from 40 to 60 years," the cabinet-level council said in a statement. Conservation activists Tuesday voiced severe concerns about what they called a risky plan, also citing a shortage of space to store the nuclear waste. "We strongly oppose the measure... We cannot afford taking such as risk," Gloria Hsu, a National Taiwan University professor, told AFP.

Taiwan wants to extend the life of its oldest nuclear power plant for another 20 years, the government said Tuesday, triggering alarm among activists who fear it could put public safety at risk. State-owned Taiwan Power Company has asked to keep using the Chinshan plant, operational since 1978 in a coastal area of north Taiwan, after the licenses of its two reactors expire in 2018 and 2019, the Atomic Energy Council said. "The application is for extending the life of the plant's two generators from 40 to 60 years," the cabinet-level council said in a statement. Conservation activists Tuesday voiced severe concerns about what they called a risky plan, also citing a shortage of space to store the nuclear waste. "We strongly oppose the measure... We cannot afford taking such as risk," Gloria Hsu, a National Taiwan University professor, told AFP.

Nearly 70 percent of the population favors the notion of replacing nuclear power with renewable energy, while 50 percent think nuclear power should be maintained as an option, according to the results of a poll released Monday. However, Taiwan Power Company, the sole supplier of electricity in Taiwan, said that renewable energy may not be a realistic path as the average consumer would complain about its much higher price. In a telephone poll conducted by Shih Hsin University on randomly chosen citizens over the age of 20, it was found that 49.1 percent support nuclear power as one of the energy production options, while 69.9 percent favor replacing nuclear power with renewable and clean energy.

Nearly 70 percent of the population favors the notion of replacing nuclear power with renewable energy, while 50 percent think nuclear power should be maintained as an option, according to the results of a poll released Monday. However, Taiwan Power Company, the sole supplier of electricity in Taiwan, said that renewable energy may not be a realistic path as the average consumer would complain about its much higher price. In a telephone poll conducted by Shih Hsin University on randomly chosen citizens over the age of 20, it was found that 49.1 percent support nuclear power as one of the energy production options, while 69.9 percent favor replacing nuclear power with renewable and clean energy.

Taiwan has tried and failed to sell its nuclear waste to North Korea and China. Now, the government is seeking a burial place at home. The top choice is a poor aboriginal community. When it comes to nuclear waste, most people say, "not in my back yard." But most residents of Nantian village in southeastern Taiwan's Taitung County favor building a low-level nuclear waste dump five kilometers away. Taiwan has thousands of barrels of low-level waste - mostly contaminated clothing, boots and mops used by the workers at the island's three nuclear power plants. Engineers at Taipower, the electricity monopoly, say it will take about 100 years for the harmful radiation to decay.

Taiwan has tried and failed to sell its nuclear waste to North Korea and China. Now, the government is seeking a burial place at home. The top choice is a poor aboriginal community. When it comes to nuclear waste, most people say, "not in my back yard." But most residents of Nantian village in southeastern Taiwan's Taitung County favor building a low-level nuclear waste dump five kilometers away. Taiwan has thousands of barrels of low-level waste - mostly contaminated clothing, boots and mops used by the workers at the island's three nuclear power plants. Engineers at Taipower, the electricity monopoly, say it will take about 100 years for the harmful radiation to decay.

The state-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) indicated Monday that it will take at least six months before referendums can be held to determine if two Taiwanese townships will become low-level radioactive waste dumping sites. Taipower officials said that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taipower have received a total of 138 letters raising various questions since March 16, when the ministry proposed in a bulletin that Daren Township in Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan and Wang-an Township in Penghu County off the west coast of Taiwan be designated as the radioactive waste storage sites.

Around 2,000 anti-nuclear protesters demonstrated in Taiwan on Sunday, demanding an immediate halt to the construction of an atomic power plant. The march comes amid a crisis in Japan after a huge quake on March 11 unleashed a tsunami which crippled an atomic plant 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo. "In the face of Japan's nuclear crisis... Taiwan should stick to the goal of building itself in a non-nuclear homeland, so that our offspring will be free from any fears of nuclear disasters," Lee Chuo-han, the secretary-general of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, told AFP. The flag-waving and chanting protesters demanded that work on the island's fourth nuclear power plant, which is nearly complete, be halted immediately

Responding to the fears expressed by residents and lawmakers of the risk posed by nuclear power plants built on earthquake zones, government officials reemphasized the safety of the facilities with a press release this week. The safety of the two reactors near Taipei Basin is guaranteed and the earthquake-resistant design is solid, said the Cabinet-level Atomic Energy Council (AEC) in the release. In response to local media reports and legislators' concerns that the first and second nuclear power plants in north Taiwan threaten the region, the council reaffirmed that the earthquake-resistant designs can withstand nearly eight times the strength of the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Taiwan a decade ago on Sept. 21, claiming more than 2,400 lives.

Responding to the fears expressed by residents and lawmakers of the risk posed by nuclear power plants built on earthquake zones, government officials reemphasized the safety of the facilities with a press release this week. The safety of the two reactors near Taipei Basin is guaranteed and the earthquake-resistant design is solid, said the Cabinet-level Atomic Energy Council (AEC) in the release. In response to local media reports and legislators' concerns that the first and second nuclear power plants in north Taiwan threaten the region, the council reaffirmed that the earthquake-resistant designs can withstand nearly eight times the strength of the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Taiwan a decade ago on Sept. 21, claiming more than 2,400 lives.

The Atomic Energy Council confirmed yesterday that it was considering fining China Airlines - Taiwan's largest air carrier - for carrying radioactive cargo without obtaining a government permit in advance in accordance with the law. Officials at the council said that ground staff at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport became alarmed Feb. 23 when they detected radioactive material in the cargo of a CAL flight from the United States to Singapore via Taiwan. The airport workers found 15 barrels containing iridium 192 - an isotope of Iridium - and hauled them to a warehouse after labeling them as radioactive. Iridium-192 is used as an industrial radioisotope to locate areas of weakness in metal pipes. It is also used in the radiation treatment of some cancers and in radiotherapy.

Taiwan will debate ending an eight- year ban on new nuclear reactors to help curb emissions from electricity generation, potentially pitting President Ma Ying- jeou against critics who say atomic power is too dangerous. "How we're going to deal with nuclear energy is up for discussion," Yeh Huey-ching, head of Taiwan's energy bureau, said on April 7 in Taipei. A two-day state conference on energy starting tomorrow will bring together 205 government officials, scholars, executives and environmentalists and resolutions will be adopted as government policy.

The right-wing Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) government continued its campaign to pull Taiwan back into the past Wednesday with a concerted campaign to reverse a previous multi-partisan consensus on a "nuclear free" energy policy and gain endorsement from a high-profile National Energy Conference for a new wave of construction of nuclear power plants. Although Premier Liu Chao-shiuan supervised the absurd listing of nuclear power as a "clean alternative energy" in a "sustainable energy action program" last June, both President Ma Ying-jeou and Liu shied away from direct mention of "nuclear power" in their addresses to Taiwan's third public-private NEC.

"The government has no plans to bring forward the commercial operations of the fourth nuclear power plant as safety remains its top priority, Executive Yuan spokesman Johnny Chiang said. Chiang dismissed local media reports that Premier Wu Den-yih had asked the plant's builders to move its scheduled opening from the end of next year to Oct. 10 to coincide with the country's 100th founding anniversary next year. Chiang said the premier was briefed by officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Atomic Energy Council and Taiwan Power Company earlier on Friday on the plant's construction progress, and Wu instructed them to monitor its building to ensure its safety."

Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) said Monday that it will soon submit a water and soil conservation plan to the Taipei County Government for the construction of a new, dry nuclear waste dump for its First Nuclear Power Plant. Once the Taipei County Government approves the water and soil conservation plan, Taipower will be able to start building the interim repository near the First Nuclear Power Plant for dry storage of its spent nuclear fuel rods, said Tu Yueh-yuan, chief engineer and Taipower spokesman. The First Nuclear Power Plant, located in the county's coastal Shihmen township, has been operational since 1978 and is expected to be decommissioned in 2018, according to Tu.

Fifteen senior air force officers, including six generals, have been disciplined in response to a mistaken shipment of nuclear weapons components to Taiwan, the US Air Force announced Thursday. The administrative actions carried "substantial consequences" for their military careers, air force officials said. But none of the officers were fired and some were kept in leadership positions because they remained critical to the nuclear mission. General Norton Schwartz, the air force chief of staff, said the officers were not accused of intentional wrongdoing, and were "good people with otherwise distinguished careers."

he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave conditional approval to a plan by the state-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) to build a temporary dump site in Taipei County to dispose of spent nuclear fuel rods from the neighboring No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, despite strong protest from the area's residents yesterday.

A remote island of offshore Penghu County and a sparsely populated rural township in eastern Taiwan were chosen yesterday as the final suggestions for a site for a permanent radioactive waste dump. According to a panel of experts under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the final site of the dump will be selected between Penghu's Wangan island and Taitung County's Daren township. The announcement of the two locations will be gazetted from Wednesday until April 16, with a referendum among residents of the two counties to be held in two months at the earliest to determine whether they will allow the dump to be built in their areas. Should they refuse to vote in favor of the dump, the site plans will be scrapped, according to the panel. The dump is needed to replace an existing dump on Orchid island in Taitung County, which will be shut down because of fierce opposition from local residents.

CONTAMINATED: The chief of Daren Township welcomed the proposal to build a nuclear waste facility because of the NT$5 billion in promised compensation Led by a royal descendant of an ancient line of Aboriginal Paiwan kings, residents and environmentalists yesterday staged a parade in Daren Township (達仁), Taitung County, to protest Taiwan Power Co's (Taipower) plan to build a storage facility for nuclear waste there. Taipower announced in March that Daren Township and Wangan Township, Penghu County, were the two candidate sites for the nuclear waste dumping ground. Opposed to the plan, more than 100 Paiwan and Puyuma Aborigines and environmentalists rallied outside a local elementary school yesterday morning, where they were blessed by Paiwan elders in a traditional ritual before they departed. The demonstrators then carried a cross on a two-hour march to the site selected for the facility.

"The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) , the highest authority of nuclear power management in Taiwan, has expressed doubt that the newly built Fourth Nuclear Power Plant can start full operations in late 2011 as scheduled, a spokesman for the council said Tuesday. Although the plant has begun operating on a trial basis, some equipment has still not been installed. "There is a distance to go before full operations can start, " said Chen Chih-ping, an official of the AEC's Department of Radiation Protection."

Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), the nation's biggest electricity producer, said it had extinguished a fire at a spare transformer at its No. 3 nuclear plant and that the station's two generating units were unaffected and operating normally. The transformer, between 100m and 200m from the plant's reactors, wasn't in use when the accident occurred, Hsu Hwai-chiung (徐懷瓊), vice president of the state-run utility, said at a press conference yesterday. 'FAULT' "Our initial investigation indicates that it was probably caused by a fault in the transformer," Hsu said. The fire broke out at around 3:15pm after a sudden surge in pressure triggered an oil leak, Hsu said. SAFE The fire was extinguished by 3:48pm without any radiation leaks or injuries, he said.

EnergySolutions has a good thing going, a virtual monopoly on the disposal of Class A low-level radioactive waste in the United States. The company's waste disposal facility at Clive in Tooele County serves as the sole repository for low-level waste generated in 36 states. And that waste stream produces a steady stream of revenue. But, the publicly traded, profit-motivated nuclear waste disposal firm is not content. Like a Girl Scout troop with a truckload of cookies, EnergySolutions is knocking on doors in a bid for new business and higher earnings. It's determined to expand its territory, to go global, by importing radioactive waste. Over the years, the company has accepted trifling amounts of radioactive waste from our friends in Britain and Taiwan, Germany and France, Canada and Mexico, without attracting too much attention. But now, it's trying to pump up the volume and acquire a license to import 20,000 tons of low-level waste from Italy. Its international aspirations are evident. And, if the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission sets a precedent by issuing the license, nations will be lining up to sign contracts and avoid disposing of these dangerous materials in their own backyards.

EnergySolutions has a good thing going, a virtual monopoly on the disposal of Class A low-level radioactive waste in the United States. The company's waste disposal facility at Clive in Tooele County serves as the sole repository for low-level waste generated in 36 states. And that waste stream produces a steady stream of revenue. But, the publicly traded, profit-motivated nuclear waste disposal firm is not content. Like a Girl Scout troop with a truckload of cookies, EnergySolutions is knocking on doors in a bid for new business and higher earnings. It's determined to expand its territory, to go global, by importing radioactive waste. Over the years, the company has accepted trifling amounts of radioactive waste from our friends in Britain and Taiwan, Germany and France, Canada and Mexico, without attracting too much attention. But now, it's trying to pump up the volume and acquire a license to import 20,000 tons of low-level waste from Italy. Its international aspirations are evident. And, if the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission sets a precedent by issuing the license, nations will be lining up to sign contracts and avoid disposing of these dangerous materials in their own backyards.

Thousands were expected to rally Sunday against a US military base on Japan's Okinawa island, raising the heat in a simmering row days before President Barack Obama visits Tokyo. Local opposition has often flared against the large US military presence on the southern island, strategically located within easy reach of China, Taiwan and North Korea and dubbed the United States' "unsinkable aircraft carrier". But the rise of a new centre-left government in Tokyo in September, ending decades of conservative rule, has brought the issue to the centre of national politics and strained Japan's most important security alliance. More than 30,000 protesters were expected to gather from 0500 GMT in a park near the controversial US Marine Corps Futenma Air Base in Ginowan city, organisers said. Obama visits Japan on Friday and Saturday.

Thousands were expected to rally Sunday against a US military base on Japan's Okinawa island, raising the heat in a simmering row days before President Barack Obama visits Tokyo. Local opposition has often flared against the large US military presence on the southern island, strategically located within easy reach of China, Taiwan and North Korea and dubbed the United States' "unsinkable aircraft carrier". But the rise of a new centre-left government in Tokyo in September, ending decades of conservative rule, has brought the issue to the centre of national politics and strained Japan's most important security alliance. More than 30,000 protesters were expected to gather from 0500 GMT in a park near the controversial US Marine Corps Futenma Air Base in Ginowan city, organisers said. Obama visits Japan on Friday and Saturday.

-With no end in sight to the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japan's neighbors are increasingly stepping up efforts to curb food imports, both fresh and processed, from parts of Japan. South Korea has temporarily banned vegetables from Fukushima and four other prefectures. In addition, the Seoul government on Thursday announced a new measure that calls for government-issued documents for all food products -- mostly processed foods -- from Tokyo, Miyagi and six other prefectures certifying safe levels of radioactive iodine and cesium. The new requirement takes effect May 1. South Korea is also requesting that products from 34 other prefectures be accompanied by documents identifying their origin. As the Japanese have yet to decide whether to accede to the request, importation of such familiar Japanese products as sake rice wine, snacks and cooking sauces, is expected, in effect, to come to a halt starting next week. Another neighbor, Taiwan, has also prohibited food imports from five prefectures, including Fukushima. In addition, all fresh produce and some processed foods from Japan must be tested for radioactivity when they arrive.