Nuclear Emergency Response Act

because otherwise the public would never know whether or not the place they live is under the exposure of harmful radioactive dose.

3.1.4. Nuclear Emergency Response Act

Table 10 categorizes the articles in the Nuclear Emergency Response Act into the four broad categories: objectives, implementing measures, assisting measures, and equitable measures based on the function of each article.

Moreover, both the categories of implementing measures and assisting measures could be broken down into more detailed subsets as elaborated in Chapter 2.2.

E qu ita ble M ea su re s A rticl e 4 3 R eso luti on o f D isp ute s Im ple m en ta tio n A sse ssm en t A rticl es 11 .2 , 1 5-2 0, a nd 2 9.1 31 Info rm atio n D isse m ina tio n 13 .1 , 1 4.1 , 2 2, 2 3, 2 5, 2 6.2 , 2 9.2 , a nd A rticl es 7.5 , 7 .6 , 8 .2 , 9 .1 .3 , 1 1.4 , 1 2.4 , S an ct io ns C ha pte r 6 C om pe nsa tio n o f D am ag e A rticl e 3 0 Im ple m en tin g M ea su re s P erm issi on A rticl es 6.3 , 1 3.1 , a nd 1 4.1 Q ua ntit ativ e R eg ula tio ns A rticl e 4 P ro hib itio n O bje ct ive s A rticl e 1 .1

S ou rce : A ssi st ing M ea su re s

N ucl ea r E m erg en cy R esp on se A ct (2 00 3). ( 核子事故緊急應變法 (2 00 3) 。 ) Y e h, J. -R . ( 1 9 9 9 ). G lo b a l E nv iro nm e nta l Issu e s—f ro m th e V ie w p o in t o f T a iw a n. T a ip e i, T a iw a n: C H U LIU P U B LIS H E R . ( 葉俊榮 (1 99 9) 。全球環境議題 :臺灣觀點。臺北市 :巨流。 ) Th e ta ble p uts the a rticl es of t he N ucl ea r E m erg en cy R esp on se A ct in to d iffe re nt ca te go rie s ba se d o n th e sp eci fic fun ct io n o f e ach a rticl e.

The following sections will evaluate the adequacy and deficiency of the Nuclear Emergency Response Act with respect to its objectives, implementation, assisting approaches, and equity.

3.1.4.1. Objectives

Article 1.1 provides that ―The purpose of this Act is to establish an emergency response system in the event of a nuclear accident, and to strengthen the emergency response functions so as to ensure the safety and health of the public and to protect their properties.‖²⁰³ In the latest IAEA Annual Report, Chapter 2.1 talks about ―Incident and Emergency Preparedness and Response.‖²⁰⁴ The IAEA says that the objective of this part is to further enhance the effective response to radiological incidents and to improve the exchange of information on nuclear incidents among different countries.²⁰⁵ From this regard, the objectives of the Nuclear Emergency Response Act in Taiwan have already covered the first part of the IAEA objectives, which is to solidify the prompt response function. However, it has yet to include the second part, which is to notify other countries when a nuclear incident occurs in Taiwan. Indeed, out of the 45 articles in the Nuclear Emergency Response Act, there is no article specifying the specific notification procedures, obligations and competent authorities once a nuclear incident happens in Taiwan. Only Article 25 slightly mentions that ―Upon occurrence of a nuclear accident, the government shall inform the neighboring countries and the associated international organizations at appropriate time, and shall ask their assistance when necessary.‖²⁰⁶ Thus, the prompt notification to other countries is something that must be improved urgently in the Nuclear Emergency Response Act.

3.1.4.2. Implementing Measures

Figure 5 depicts the implementing measures under the framework of the law. Under the framework of the Response Act, there are five agencies. Two of them are central government agencies, and they are the Atomic Energy Council and the Ministry of National Defense. Also in the framework are the city and county governments where the emergency planning zones situate.

Last but not least, the Dedicated Nuclear Emergency Response Unit is an obligatory agency under the licensee of the nuclear power plants—the Taipower Company—according to the law.²⁰⁷

203 Nuclear Emergency Response Act, supra note 159, at Article 1.1.

204 International Atomic Energy Agency, supra note 48, at 75.

205 Ibid.

206 Nuclear Emergency Response Act, supra note 159, at Article 25.

207 Ibid.

From Figure 5, it could be observed that the regulatory framework under the Response Act is clear and concise. It is indeed worthwhile for other countries to learn from. In normal days, the Taipower Company already defined the emergency planning zones near each nuclear power plant.²⁰⁸ The emergency planning zone is to provide a shelter for the victims to fetch the medical treatment, food, water, iodine, and other necessary resources in case a nuclear incident occurs.²⁰⁹ This is certainly an excellent provision because it prepares the crucial materials, equipment and facilities in normal days. Even if a nuclear incident suddenly occurs, such preparation can minimize the impact of the local people.

In addition, the Taipower Company has to draw up the emergency response plan for the nuclear reactor facilities and then submit the plan to the central authority—the Atomic Energy Council.²¹⁰ Upon approval, the Atomic Energy Council will exercise the emergency response plan in a certain frequency.²¹¹ These regulations are reasonable; however, Article 15 only mentions that the central competent authority shall periodically conduct exercise.²¹² It is believed that the awareness on nuclear safety will significantly increase every once in a while especially after a major accident such as the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, but as time passes, the awareness is going to diminish. Therefore, it would be much better if Article 15 can define an exact interval between each exercise on the emergency response plan.

Meanwhile, the Taipower Company must provide the field, equipment and fund for the exercise, and the Dedicated Unit has to keep track of the exercise and send the professional personnel.²¹³ This is a good regulation because the licensee has the comparative advantage about the knowledge and technique, and they are the most suitable to provide the relevant professionals and resources for the exercise.

On the other hand, if a nuclear accident occurs, the Taipower Company has to immediately notify the Atomic Energy Council based on the format and standard operation procedures specified in the Emergency Response Plan.²¹⁴ Once the Atomic Energy Council receives the notification, it should promptly notify the Ministry of National Defense and the local governments in order that the Ministry of National Defense activates the Nuclear Emergency Support Center, and the local governments activate the Regional Nuclear Emergency Response Center.²¹⁵ Meanwhile, the Atomic Energy Council shall activate the National Nuclear Emergency Response Center and Nuclear Emergency Radiation Monitoring and Dose Assessment Center.²¹⁶ This notification mechanism is clear and concise. The structural design is excellent because it lets the Atomic Energy Council serves as the upstream regulator—it receives the emergency notification directly from the nuclear reactor operator and then

decides whether or not the situation is serious enough that further steps must be taken. If so, it then immediately notifies other competent authorities to activate all the relevant agencies. This design is effective and efficient. It avoids wasting governmental resources while securing the nuclear safety in terms of emergency response.

3.1.4.3. Assisting Measures

As for the interaction between the agencies, the purple lines in Figure 5 indicate the communication channels. In other words, the Dedicated Unit acts as the node of the message exchanges.²¹⁷ The green lines in Figure 5 represent assistance. In other words, the Support Center has to help other three Emergency Response Centers in the affairs pertaining to the law.²¹⁸ Last but not least, the Assessment Center has to follow the instructions of the National Response Center.²¹⁹ Such design is wonderful due to several reasons. First and foremost, both the National Response Center and the Radiological Assessment Center are the central emergency response agencies activated by the Atomic Energy Council. If the law authorizes both organizations with the same power, the situation will be complicated and inefficient once the two agencies declare contradictory policies. By making the Radiological Assessment Center follow the instructions of the National Response Center, Article 9.4 can effectively avoid this problem. Secondly, the Support Center is affiliated to the Ministry of National Defense, an agency with the absolute power to arrange all the domestic soldiers but with the lack of nuclear safety profession. By making the Support Center assist other three emergency response units, the soldiers can provide the manpower in terms of the distribution of resources, the decontamination of major roads, and the radiation measurements for the environment. Such design ideally maximizes the comparative advantages of each agency. Last but not least, the Dedicated Unit knows the best about the current status inside the nuclear power plant.

Thus, it is the most suitable to serve as the communication center, for which it can prioritize the messages and retrieve the most crucial resources to resolve the urgent situations in the reactor facilities.

When the crisis is over, the regulatory framework will conduct the next procedure. First and foremost, the blue lines in Figure 5 are deactivation notifications. In other words, the National Response Center has the authority and shall deactivate other three Emergency Response Centers.²²⁰ Meanwhile, the orange lines in Figure 5 are the necessary procedures of the activation of the Recovery Committee. To be more specific, the Atomic Energy Council has to put together the experts and resources of the relevant governmental agencies and Taipower Company to recover the influenced places as soon as possible.²²¹ These provisions have some room for improvements. It seems that the deactivation of the four emergency response units, as marked in red in Figure 5, happens too early, and the newly established Recovery Committee might not have enough capacity to conduct the quick restoration on the

response units do the work and do not deactivate them until all the recovery procedures are completed.

3.1.4.4. Equitable Measures

Article 43.1 provides that ―the central Competent Authority shall collect a certain amount of money from the nuclear reactor facility licensee each year for every nuclear reactor facility to set up a Nuclear Emergency Response Fund.‖²²² Such measure is fair and reasonable because the Taipower Company makes money from the operation of nuclear power plants while there is potential risk of radiological incidents. Thus, the power company should afford the expenditure on the nuclear emergency preparations.