Environment | Gov’t slammed for failing to issue contingency plans for nuclear plant

The New Macau Association (ANM) criticized the local government yesterday, for allegedly failing to address Macau’s safety regarding the Taishan nuclear power plant that is under construction in Guangdong province.
During a press conference held yesterday, ANM’s leaders claimed that the power plant is located some 64 kilometers from Macau.
Since the region is located downwind from Taishan, due to the southwestern monsoon in summertime,, Macau would be exposed to the fallout in the case of a catastrophe at the power plant.
“Even if the impact is not that much, considering that the city is a tourist city, that will be a tremendous blow to the economy,” said ANM’s president, Scott Chiang, emphasizing that tourists may lose “confidence” in traveling to the region.
The association is concerned with MSAR’s lack of “necessary awareness” for the situation of a nuclear incident. Chiang claimed that no evacuation or decontamination plans of the government have yet been released to the public.
According to ANM, in considering Macau’s interest and safety, the location of Taishan Nuclear Plant is “unwarranted and unacceptable.” ANM has claimed that the building of the plant and its piles are substandard.
“FactWire interviews engineers in the project. [It is] a reliable information on the structure and quality in the containers,” said Jason Chao ANM’s vice president. Chao claimed that the steel of one of the pressure containers contains “too much” carbon, making it overly brittle in a high-temperature and high-pressure situation.
“The level of defect exceeded European standard[s] and can contribute to potential damage,” Scott Chiang claimed.
Although Chiang admitted that there is no reason to stop the construction as the work is almost completed, safety measures should be met before the power plant goes into operation.
The association also noted that Taiwan has refused to operate a number of its nuclear plants due to public pressure and concerns regarding safety measures. Chiang demanded the government to convince the public that Taishan plant is “safe,” however he claimed that authorities have refused to answer the press’ questions in regards to safety measures.
“What are the [contingency] plans? They have a website that states stay calm, listen to radio, listen to instructions, but we need a concrete and clear contingency plan,” he said.
Chiang also criticized authorities for cancelling school days during “normal” weather, suggesting that such decisions speak of foul play, and that the public would not be able to trust MSAR’s conclusions regarding incidents such as the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant’s safety measures in the case of a catastrophe.
The government issued a statement this week indicating that it has requested more information regarding the Taishan nuclear power plan from the Guangdong Provincial Government. Staff reporter