TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Safety drills for Taiwan's No. 2 Nuclear Power Plant will include the possibility of an attack by drones, reports said Wednesday (Sept. 6).
The power station is located in New Taipei City’s Wanli District on the country’s north coast. The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) scheduled the drills for Sept. 12-14, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.
The exercise will prepare for the impact of a natural disaster in combination with a nuclear accident. Due to the war in Ukraine, the latest round of drills will also feature a simulation of an attack by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) causing a fire at the plant.
The drone simulation will be held on the first day of the exercise, as will drills inside the plant safeguarding the water and power supply. Attention will move to the area outside on Sept. 13-14, with teams measuring radiation levels, and the cities of New Taipei, Taipei, and Keelung testing their response to a potential disaster at the site.
The evacuation and housing of students and elderly from the area as well as the provision of medical care to radiation victims will also be featured in the drills.
The AEC said that at 9:20 a.m. on Sept. 13, residents of the New Taipei City districts of Wanli, Jinshan, and Shimen would receive nuclear accident alerts, as would the residents of the Keelung City districts of Anle, Zhongshan, and Qidu at 9:25 a.m. on Sept. 14. Part of the drills will also be streamed live online, according to the AEC.
The government’s key environmental policies include a phasing out of nuclear energy by 2025 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
