Underwater volcanoes pose risk to plant, activists say

Vincent Y. Chao -

The earthquake that hit Japan on Friday last week has provided additional ammunition to environmental activists who are worried that one of Taiwan’s nuclear power plants lies within an area known for its underwater volcanoes.

Lee Chao-shing (李昭興), a professor of applied geosciences at National Taiwan Ocean University, said last year that as many as 70 underwater volcanoes are located within an 80km radius of the soon-to-be-operational Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市).

Up to 11 of those volcanoes are active, Lee said.

Although atomic regulatory officials dismissed the risks, activists said the authorities should take another look in light of the nuclear incidents in Japan.

The volcanoes, which have the highest concentration near a nuclear plant in the world, could lead to “a serious disaster” in the event of an earthquake or tsunami on the scale of that that struck Japan last week, Lee said.

The extent of their activity can be seen by the nearby presence of crabs, he said, pointing to video that showed hundreds of the crustaceans crawling at the base of what Lee said was an underwater volcano.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators demanded that the government stop work on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant — also known as the Longmen plant — which is expected to come online this year or next year.

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