LOW-LEVEL RADWASTE TRANSPORTATION IN TAIWAN

Currently there are three nuclear power plants in operation in Taiwan, including six nuclear power units; the total power output amounts to 5,144 Mie. 95% of low-level waste in Taiwan is generated by nuclear power plants, 5% are generated by medicine, agriculture, industry, and academic organizations. For the interim storage of low-level waste, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) constructed a storage facility on Lan-Yu (Orchid Island), and started operation in 1982, to receive wastes from nuclear power plants and the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER). Sea transportation is the major part of low-level waste transportation and land transportation is the minor part. The transport ship parks at the northern end of Taiwan, the southern end of Taiwan, and Lan-Yu. The waste in transport includes packaged waste to be sent to Lan-Yu and waste from the Third Nuclear Power Plant to be incinerated or compacted at the Volume Reduction Center (VRC) of Taiwan Power Company (Taipower). Since 1982, 79,476 drums of low-level waste have been sent to Lan-Yu; in each shipment 288 drums of waste are carried by 6 containers. At present, Taipower has constructed a new ship named \"Tien-Kuang No.1\" to join the transport operation. This paper describes the history of low-level waste transport in Taiwan, relevant regulatory regulations, marine incidents encountered in the past, and the status of transportation.