US, Taiwan cement ties over nuclear safety

Taiwan will sign a letter of intent with the United States over U.S support during a nuclear emergency, said Atomic Energy Council (AEC) Deputy Minister Shieh Der-jhy (謝得志).

The document will be signed by Taiwan's AEC and America's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to confirm U.S assistance in the case of a nuclear emergency.
The U.S will dispatch experts and send special equipment to help the country in case of nuclear disasters, said Shieh.
In addition to crisis aid, the U.S will also provide training on nuclear power management and disaster prevention to Taiwan personnel from time to time.
The signing of the letter of intent has nothing to do with any commercial interests, as no new order is placed with American General Electric Co. for nuclear equipment or service purchase, added Shieh.
Shieh will head for the U.S today with a group of AEC officials for routine meetings on nuclear safety. He will visit several NNSA laboratories and discuss nuclear safety issues with his American counterparts during his stay.
As part of American efforts to boost global nuclear safety, Andrew W. Reynolds, a technology adviser to the U.S Secretary of State, visited nuclear power plant No. 1 on Friday.
The U.S is one of the major exporters of nuclear technology. The Obama administration has sent dozens of nuclear experts, tons of equipment and several robots to help Japan in its struggle to contain the radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.
The serious radioactive leakage in Japan has prompted Taiwan's government to take action to strengthen national nuclear safety, including reviewing the safety of domestic nuclear power plants.
Nuclear security will be discussed in the next round of cross-strait talks, President Ma Ying-jeou said in early April. In addition, a cross-strait nuclear safety mechanism will be built with measures for both sides to communicate on nuclear power safety information, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.


nini/chinapost