Lungmen No. 1 Nuclear Reactor Passes Safety Checks and to be Sealed 3 Years Starting 2015

The No. 1 reactor at Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant, Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant in the northeast, has recently been given green light for pre-operational trials, with sealing scheduled to start 2015, according to Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

MOEA indicates that all 126 systems of the No. 1 reactor underwent pre-operational testing and thorough re-examination based on 231 specific procedures from April 2013 to July 2014. Key functions verified include containment, instrumentation and controls, peripheral support, power generation, safe shutdown and water cooling.

The result of the pre-operational safety inspections will be sent by the end of September to the Atomic Energy Council, Taiwan's regulator of nuclear plants, for further review and approval.

J. C. Hwang, chairman of Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower), the plant operator, says that Lungmen No. 1 reactor will be sealed for an initial period of three years, starting 2015 with the cost of sealing and maintenance estimated at NT$1.2-1.3 billion (US$40-43 million) for the first year.

The construction of the No. 2 reactor in Lungmen will be suspended until the future of the facility is determined in an island-wide referendum. The MOEA says that sealing the reactor, rather than shutting it down before public consensus is reached, is an option being kept open for future generations.

Chin Shan Nuclear Power Plant, the island's first nuclear plant, is to be decommissioned by 2018 and MOEA worries the island may face electricity shortage as early as 2016. (JL)