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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Pictures point to blowout at nuclear reactor: Huang
New Power Party Executive Director Huang Kuo-chang yesterday points to a photograph showing a blowout near one of the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant’s reactors at a news conference held at the NPP caucus’ office in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
SUSPENSION DEMANDED: A Taipower whistle-blower provided photos from a Guosheng reactor. Huang Kuo-chang said the firm issued a gag order on the incident
By Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
Photographs showing a “blowout” near one of the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant’s reactors in New Taipei City’s Wanli District （萬里） belies claims by Taiwan Power Co （Taipower） that the incident was only a “high-temperature decompression,” New Power Party （NPP） Executive Director Huang Kuo-chang （黃國昌） said yesterday.
The reactor’s operation should be suspended until safety concerns are addressed, the lawmaker said.
“Taipower can make more information public if it wants to earn the public’s trust,” Huang said, presenting pictures he said were provided by a company whistle-blower showing blown-out potential transformers, along with blackened and dented casing and equipment.
Citing an e-mail sent by the whistle-blower, Huang said that the company had issued a gag order after shutting the reactor after April’s incident, while publicly downplaying its significance.
“Even though this is an important nuclear power plant accident, Taiwan Power Co has sought primarily to cover up and downplay,” he said.
The incident’s severity has been a point of contention between the company and Huang, who represents the legislative district where the plant is located.
While the company said the incident was a “high-temperature decompression” caused by overvoltage in surge arrestors, Huang said after visiting the plant on Friday last week that there was evidence of an “explosion” at the facility.
He said he had been barred from taking photographs on his visit due to security regulations.
The NPP earlier this week proposed a legislative motion requiring the firm to provide information on its investigation into the incident to the Legislative Yuan before reactivating the reactor.
“My stance is simple: No operation until safety is assured,” the lawmaker said.
“This incident has created a lot of uneasiness,” Green Citizens’ Action Alliance deputy secretary-general Hung Shen-han （洪申翰） said, adding that the company’s continuing reluctance to release its own pictures of the damage led to suspicions of a cover-up.
“Prior to the incident, Taipower had finished a safety check, but the incident happened immediately after they turned the reactor back on,” he said.
“The next time they say it is safe,” Hung said.
The public is going to care if there is any mechanism in place to support their claims,” Hung said.
Taipower issued a news release after the incident, saying that it had occurred 35 minutes after the completion of annual safety repairs.
“The exact meaning of ‘explosion’ is subject to different interpretations,” Taipower spokesman Lin Te-fu （林德福） said, adding that the company was reluctant to use the term, because there was no chemical or nuclear reaction, only abnormal electrical current.
“Electric current is energy in itself and after the rubber in the surge protectors started burning, the air inside expanded and pushed out, ruining the rubber and affecting surrounding objects,” he said.
The company had not immediately published pictures of the damage because its first priority was ensuring site safety.
The company would continue to investigate the cause of the overvoltage and examine the reactor’s generator and transformers before submitting a final report to the Atomic Energy Council next month.
Council Department of Nuclear Regulation head Chang Shin （張欣） said the agency would rigorously review the report before allowing it to restart the reactor.
She also said the plant’s fire squad rushed to the scene as soon as the incident was reported, but did not take any action because there was only smoke, which dispersed in a few minutes.
The fire squad’s reaction suggests that what happened was not an explosion, the council said.
Additional reporting by Chen Wei-han
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
