Anti-nuclear activists seek probe into Orchid Island barrels

The activists asked the Control Yuan to look into the event and investigate Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) and the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) for possible dereliction of duty.

More than 100 barrels from the Taipower repository were found in Yayu Village on Orchid Island on Aug. 10. A follow-up search brought up more from underground. As of yesterday, 217 have been found. Taipower explained that the barrels contain concrete, instead of nuclear waste.

“We have lost trust in Taipower,” said Shyman Ftaien, leader of an anti-nuclear group on Lanyu.

He said that the Taipower deceived the public by claiming that there were only 130 barrels and they even tried to run away from responsibilities by covering the Taipower marks on the barrels.

Experts from the AEC pointed out that the radioactivity from the containers was within the safety limit. However, representatives of environmental protection groups demanded an independent investigation.

“Taipower cannot be the player and the judge at the same time,” said Liao Hsin-yi, member of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union.

Orchid Island has been a temporary dump site for nuclear waste for 26 years and around 98,000 barrels have been disposed of on the island each year. Residents have received little compensation and assistance from Taipower, said Charles Lin, a member of the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, adding that the people defend their rights on their own.

Taipower was blamed last December for coastal erosion around the Fulung Beach, said to have resulted from construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.

“Taipower is not treating the Earth as a living entity,” said Chen Mei-chi, deputy secretary general of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union.

Chen Jinn-lih, a member of the Control Yuan, received the petition and promised to form an investigation group within one week. Results of the investigation are expected in three months.

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