Under consideration are Taitung County's Nantien village, Pingtung County's Hsuhai village and offshore Penghu County's Dongjiyu islet -- all of which are remote and sparsely populated communities.

The Aug. 29 announcement of the three potential sites marks a significant step forward in the country's desperate and controversial drive to build a permanent disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste from its three existing nuclear power plants and a fourth one now under construction, as well as radioactive waste from medical, academic, industrial and agricultural institutions.

Over the years, Taiwan has accumulated some 200,000 barrels of such waste, 97,672 of which are stored at a temporary dump opened in 1982 on scenic Orchid Island, also known as Lanyu, off Taiwan's southeastern coast.

The rest is being kept at the three nuclear power plants in operation and at a national nuclear energy research institute.

Taiwan is one of only six countries among the 34 using nuclear energy that have not set up a permanent disposal facility for low-level waste. At present, 77 such facilities are in operation around the world, with 71 using shallow land disposal and six using cavern disposal.

State-run Taiwan Power Co. first faced a site dilemma in the mid-1990s, as the Tao people on Lanyu protested vociferously over the waste dump in their backyard and insisted that the stored waste be removed.

The utility twice launched drives to find new dump sites in the late '90s, but both failed because of opposition from residents of potential sites, environmentalists and anti-nuclear energy advocacy groups.

To cope with people's resistance to having a nuclear waste dump located in their communities because of health and safety concerns, the government decided to draft legislation that sets siting criteria,processing and suitability requirements,and future operational regulations.

The legislation was passed in May 2005, providing Taipower with a legal basis to override the objections of angry residents to start site surveys.

The process, however, has remained far from smooth, beset by continued resistance from local residents around the potential sites.

After suffering many setbacks, Taipower offered a NT$30 million subsidy to each village considered a potential site, in exchange for permission to conduct geological surveys and evaluation studies to determine the locations' suitability to host a disposal facility.

Merely identifying the potential sites, however, does not mean actually establishing a radioactive waste facility will be easy.

Financial incentives provided for in the legislation, along with technological advances, should in theory make it easier for Taipower to find a site and come up with a construction plan that is acceptable to local communities.The law authorizes the government to offer NT$5 billion in subsidies to the locale hosting the site, with 40 percent going to residents of the village, 30 percent to neighboring villages, 20 percent to the county or city in which the village is located, and 10 percent reserved for contingency plans.

At the same time, thanks to advances in nuclear waste processing technology, Taiwan now produces only about 300 barrels of low-level radioactive waste each year.

Given this trend, a permanent disposal facility would only have to cover an area of 1-2 square kilometers to accommodate the existing 200,000 barrels of low-level waste plus another 800,000 barrels estimated to be produced until 2049, when Taipower is expected to decommission its last nuclear power generator.

But the reality of actually building a waste disposal facility is more complicated and faces severe obstacles.

The law, for example, requires that a countywide referendum be held within six months of the announcement of candidate sites. The referendum will only pass if more than half of the country's eligible voters turn out to vote and if more than half of them cast a "yes" vote.

That means that even if those residing in the village where the underground facility will be built unanimously embrace the project, it can still be vetoed in the referendum, as many members of the public remain skeptical about the safety of such facilities and the possible environmental impact they will cause.

Even if a proposal passes the referendum test, it still faces another crucial hurdle -- an environmental impact assessment -- before it can be referred to the Executive Yuan for final approval.

Once the Cabinet approves the site, a construction timetable will be worked out and Taipower said it is hopeful that if the process reaches this stage, construction can get underway by 2010 and can be completed by 2015.

Reactions from the three potential sites have been mixed.

While the Pingtung county government and local residents say they will respect the referendum result, all Penghu social quarters, including the county government, have voiced bitter opposition, as people there fear that the disposal facility might derail their dream of turning their island county into a thriving tourist destination with plush casinos and other modern entertainment facilities.

As for Taitung, the eastern county is caught in a dilemma. Under strong pressure from anti nuclear groups, the county council rejected screening a draft bill on a countywide referendum in its last session.

With the fate of the legislation uncertain, the county government has become more reserved about the project, and despite Taipower's handsome financial incentives, half of the county's residents remain opposed to the project, according to recent surveys.