REPORT OF THE 26TH MEETING OF THE AMERICAN

UNCLAS STATE 130336 SENSITIVE SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO AIT/K E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM ENRG KNNP TW SUBJECT: REPORT OF THE 26TH MEETING OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE IN TAIWAN (AIT) - TAIPEI ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE (TECRO) JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON CIVIL NUCLEAR COOPERATION (JSCCNC) PLEASE PASS TO AIT/K SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The 26th meeting of the AIT-TECRO JSCCNC was held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on October 26-27, 2009. The two sides discussed collaboration in the areas of nuclear reactor safety and regulation, radioactive waste management, emergency management, nuclear fuel research, safeguards, nuclear medicine, and other peaceful uses of nuclear technologies. The discussions were positive and productive. Participants discussed Taiwan,s interest in advanced nuclear reactor research, with AIT expressing the view that Very High Temperature Reactors are a more fruitful area for bilateral exchanges than other Generation IV reactors, such as Molten Salt Reactors. As a result of these discussions, TECRO informed AIT of its desire to pursue only materials-related technology development in connection with advanced reactors. The JSCCNC meeting was followed by a visit to Taiwan,s nearly completed fourth nuclear power plant (Lungmen) to view the status of construction. A full summary record of the meeting, including copies of slides from presentations, is available from DOS/ISN/NESS. END SUMMARY -------------- MEETING HIGHLIGHTS -------------- ¶2. (U) On October 26 and 27, 2009, the AIT-TECRO JSCCNC met for the 26th time in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The Head of Delegation on the TECRO side was Dr. Der-Jhy Shieh, Deputy Minister of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Principal Coordinator for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO). The Head of Delegation on the AIT side was Dr. Alex R. Burkart, Deputy Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy, Safety and Security (NESS),U.S. Department of State (DOS). The Taiwan delegation included representatives from TECRO, AEC, the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CCNAA),the Fuel Cycle and Materials Administration (FCMA),the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER),Taiwan Radiation Monitoring Center (TRMC), Taiwan Power Company (TPC),and the National Tsing-Hwa University (NTHU). The AIT delegation included representatives from the Department of State, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT),the Department of Energy (DOE), DOE the Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA),the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC),DOE Sandia National Laboratory (SNL),and DOE Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). ¶3. (U) A particular emphasis in the 2009 meeting was the prospect of a renaissance of the nuclear industry stemming from the shared international concern about climate change, global warming, and the potential of nuclear power as an alternative source of clean energy. This was the message expressed by Dr Shieh, who also emphasized the importance of addressing concerns about nuclear safety, safeguards and waste management as a means to overcome public disapproval of the growth of the nuclear power industry. ¶4. (U) The message conveyed by both Mr. Christian Castro, Branch Chief of the AIT Kaohsiung Office, and Dr. Burkart was one of enhanced collaboration in which the United States is working bilaterally and multilaterally to ensure that emerging nuclear power countries recognize the importance of pursuing nuclear power the right way. Dr. Burkart and Dr. Chuen-Horng Tsai, Minister Chairman of the AEC, outlined some of the changes and challenges that the new administrations in the United States and Taiwan face regarding nuclear energy policies and international cooperation on safe, secure and more proliferation-resistant nuclear power development. ¶5. (U) According to Dr. Tsai, the transition in Taiwan from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to the Kuomingtang (KMT) was quite fortunate for the nuclear industry because the new administration has proven to be supportive of nuclear energy developments. In early June of 2008, Taiwan announced the &Sustainable Energy Policy Directive8, which outlines the strategic goals for energy conservation, the increase of the percentage of low carbon energy sources and the consideration of nuclear power as a carbon-free energy option. As Dr. Tsai noted, this directive was considered the first sign of a rollback of the DPP,s anti-nuclear policies. In mid-April 2009, Taiwan held the &Third National Energy Conference8 to provide guidelines on Taiwan,s future energy strategies. Dr. Tsai recalled Premier Liu,s concluding remarks, where Liu referred to nuclear power as an existing reality and a transition source of energy needed to achieve a low carbon society, urging the administration to guarantee nuclear power safety, advance nuclear waste treatment technologies and strengthen transparency and proper oversight maintenance. ¶6. (U) Dr. Tsai pointed out that following the Conference, Taiwan issued an action program, approved by the Executive Yuan in July 2009, consisting of sixteen integrated action plans, showing a commitment to safe, secure nuclear power development. These action plans include assessing the reasonable use of nuclear power, for which the AEC is responsible, promoting the development of human resources in energy technology, and fostering an energy program under the National Science and Technology Program of the National Science Council, supported by the AEC and under which all nuclear related projects will fall. Examples of such projects include research on the safety analysis capability for Generation III and III light water reactors, and basic studies on Molten Salt Reactors (MSR),including material characteristics and their use as actinide burners. ¶7. (U) In his plenary briefing, Dr. Wei-Chi Wang, Deputy Director of the AEC,s Planning Department, presented graphs illustrating Taiwan,s reliance on coal burning plants. The figures showed that the island,s power system in 2008 had an installed capacity of about 42% coal, while nuclear power accounted for about 11% of installed capacity. Of the electricity generated during 2008, about 55% was from coal and 17% from nuclear power. The three nuclear power plants (NPP) (six reactors) generated a total of 40.83 TeraWatt-hours of electricity during 2008, a record high and an increase of 0.7% over the previous year. Taiwan is presently discussing the addition of new nuclear units, possibly four more units to be constructed at the Lungmen site starting in 2013, with two more units to be added later. The hope is to have six additional units completed within eight years. ¶8. (U) According to Dr. Wang, there have been safety improvements over the years in Taiwan,s three operating NPP, Chinshan, Kuosheng, and Maanshan. However, the number of safety violations at the Fourth NPP, still under construction, has increased during the past three years, with a total of seven violations as of October 2009. The problems experienced by the Fourth NPP (Lungmen) include poor engineering management, late involvement of the utility in the development process, inadequate design, construction flaws, management problems arising from too high a level of trust in the contractors, delays, soaring vendor prices, unexpected changes in design, equipment delivery delays by the vendors, and regulatory disputes. Major ongoing regulatory activities within the AEC,s nuclear regulation department include the power uprate of operating NPPs, reactor oversight and significance determination processes, processing of transient analysis methodology licensing applications, a ten year integrated safety assessment of the Chinshan NPP, and implementation of maintenance rules and inspection of Lungmen Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) construction. ¶9. (U) Mr. Wang mentioned that 24,000 radiation protection permits for equipment and materials and 8,800 personnel certificates were issued as of February 2009. In addition, an online reporting system was established to strengthen radiation control measures. As for radioactive waste management concerns, TPC has significantly reduced the total output of solidified low level waste (LLW) from its three NPPs from about 12,000 drums in 1983 to 253 drums in 2008 thanks to the successful implementation of the high efficiency solidification technologies developed by INER, including the Pressurized Water Reactor High Efficiency Solidification Technology (PWRHEST) implemented at the Maanshan NPP, and the Boiling Water Reactor High Efficiency Solidification Technology (BWRHEST) used at the Kuosheng NPP. Mr. Wang also indicated that Taiwan,s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is expected to make a formal announcement of the proposed sites for final disposal of LLW by the end 2009. A final candidate site will be determined by an island-wide referendum held. Two potential candidates are Nanten Village, in the very South of Taiwan, and Dongjiyu Islet. However, following MOEA,s preliminary suggestion of Dongjiyu, Penghu County indicated the Islet is a nature conservation reserve, an announcement that might change MOEA,s decision. ¶10. (U) According to Mr. Wang, Taiwan,s emergency response programs have also experienced improvements this year as a result of the lessons learned from typhoon Morakot, which prompted a disaster review meeting to develop a series of action plans to prepare for nuclear emergencies. Taiwan has also been actively involved in education and public outreach programs, especially for youth. The programs include science and environmental protection fairs, nuclear training camps for school teachers, and educational videos on official websites. In the beginning of October, the AEC established freedom of information action teams tasked with two initial duties, namely to study the feasibility of, and set guidelines for, public participation in AEC,s activities, and to draft criteria and procedures for public inspections, exemptions, requests for withholding, and other requests. These criteria and procedures will be developed utilizing USNRC 1-CRF2.390 as a reference, and will be included in Taiwan,s &Freedom of Government Information Law8. ¶11. (U) The updates from the AIT side included the status of fire protection regulations and related activities in the United States, implementation of maintenance practices and modifications to minimize the clogging of sump strainers in pressurized water reactors, development of interim staff guidance on performance of digital instrumentation and control reviews, status of power uprates applications, the NRC license renewal program activities, the status of the design certifications being evaluated by the NRC, an overview of the advanced reactor program within the Office of New Reactors, and updates of the new uranium enrichment facilities anticipated to be built in the United States. NRC also provided Taiwan with information on its Multinational Design Evaluation Program, established to develop international cooperation on design reviews and the pursuit of convergence of codes and standards. Currently 10 national authorities take part in the new reactor reviews, while others participate as observers. ¶12. (U) DOE briefed Taiwan on the activities of DOE,s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) to promote nuclear power as a resource to meet the United States, energy, environmental, and national security needs. DOE/NE provided information on several of its research and development programs aimed at resolving technical, financial, safety, security, and regulatory barriers faced by nuclear power programs. Among the programs highlighted were &Nuclear Power 20108 - designed to foster government-industry partnerships to speed up identification of new sites for the construction of nuclear power plants, and the &Next Generation Nuclear Plant8, a government-industry partnership to accelerate commercialization of Generation IV technologies in the United States. DOE/NE also emphasized international collaborations that the office has established with several countries around the globe and with international organizations to develop and implement the new framework for civil nuclear cooperation, focused on nuclear fuel assurances and infrastructure development. Other opportunities for international research cooperation mentioned by DOE/NE were generation III reactor deployment and applications, fuel services, and radioactive waste management. ¶13. (U) DOE also introduced Taiwan to DOE,s Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI),which cooperates with countries to reduce and protect vulnerable nuclear and radiological materials at civilian sites worldwide. GTRI provided a presentation on its efforts working with countries worldwide on ensuring the security of high-activity radioactive sources. Taiwan was invited to participate with GTRI in a cooperative project on radioactive source security. ¶14. (SBU) Taiwan,s Ministry of Economic Affairs, the AEC, the National Tsing Hua University, and AIT delegates from DOE and DOS also held discussions on the margins of the meeting regarding the replacement of Taiwan,s nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States (upon expiration of the existing agreement),MOEA,s point of view on spent fuel management, and Taiwan,s interest in Molten Salt Reactors (MSR). With regard to the replacement of the current bilateral cooperation agreement, Dr. Burkart stated the need to include provisions specified in the 1978 amendment to the Atomic Energy Act (pursuant to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978). These provisions were not present when the agreement was initially negotiated in 1972 and amended in ¶1974. In addition, he recommended to include language to reflect the application of full-scope safeguards in Taiwan, and Taiwan,s lack of intent to pursue enrichment and reprocessing technology. Including that additional language would be a means to record present reality and to give Taiwan credit for its nonproliferation efforts. ¶15. (SBU) Chin-Shan Lee, Deputy Director, Department of Nuclear Backend Management of Taiwan Power Company informed the AIT delegation that in order to deal with spent fuel management, Taiwan is interested in shipping its spent fuel overseas for reprocessing (France is an option). However, problems with the return of the waste still need to be resolved. A significant practical barrier in the development of an agreement between Areva and TPC for transfer of spent fuel from Taiwan to France is the fact that France requires return of the high level waste to the originator. However, France is worried about the possibility of Taiwan refusing to take the waste back at the time of its return. Areva had proposed that France enter into an agreement with the United States, where the U.S. would agree to receive the waste in case Taiwan refuses to do so. Dr. Burkart emphasized that the United States wants a clear understanding of what will happen with the fuel and its full transfer process, and it may be possible for this to be incorporated in a legally binding agreement between AIT and TECRO. However, the United States will not conclude a second agreement with France to receive the waste in the event of a Taiwan,s refusal. ¶16. (SBU) An important issue discussed was Taiwan,s future reactor studies, and NTHU,s interest in performing preliminary studies on MSRs. The reason for the attractiveness of the MSR to Taiwan is based on its potential role as an actinide burner, which represents a possible solution to the spent fuel problem. NTHU sees research on the topic as an innovative contribution Taiwan could make to the international community. So far, NTHU,s work on MSRs has been limited mostly to literature review in the area of materials structure and studies of corrosion as it relates to high temperature alloys, with some purely theoretical studies of reactor physics. ¶17. (SBU) Dr. Burkart stated that MSRs would not be a fruitful area of cooperation with the United States since the United States is not doing, or planning to do, any work on that area. Rather, for bilateral exchanges the United States is interested in gas-cooled reactors, especially Very High Temperature Reactors. Scientists from NTHU voiced their desire for the research not to be only domestic but international, which would give it transparency. However, Dr. Burkart pointed out the absence of international programs on MSRs for Taiwan to plug into. As a result of the dialogs, Taiwan stated that its new proposal for international cooperation would not focus on the reactor but rather on high temperature material development, material behavior and basic phenomenological properties, carbon-carbon composites, molten salts, and the application of salts in secondary loops. ¶18. (SBU) The JSCCNC meeting was followed by a visit to Taiwan,s nearly completed fourth nuclear power plant, the Lungmen facility, in Gongliao, Taipei, where the delegation could view the status of its construction. TPC briefed AIT on the status of the Lungmen project, including construction and testing of Unit I, the damage on Unit II resulting from the flooding caused by Typhoon Sinlaku in 2008 and lessons learned from the experience, and the digital instrumentation and control (I&C) system and simulator used on Lungmen. TPC indicated that the cause of the flooding of the buildings in Unit II was related to the flow of the inundating waters and the construction configuration, not to plant design or the expected final configuration. TPC is in the process of repairing and/or replacing and retesting the damaged equipment. ¶19. (SBU) The delegation toured the turbine, reactor, and control buildings of Unit I, and saw a demonstration of the simulator in action. Lungmen is designed to have two advanced boiling water reactors manufactured by General Electric Co. The steam turbine generator was manufactured by Mitsubishi and the radwaste and related system equipment by Hitachi. The Lungmen project was supposed to be 90.47% complete as of August 2009, although the figure was judged by TPC to be unrealistic. Unit I has experienced several suspensions, design and construction problems, which Dr. James Lin, Deputy Director of TPC,s Nuclear Engineering Department, told AIT caused the commercial operation date to be extended and the budget to be increased several times, most recently to 2011 with a budget of $8.6 billion. ¶20. (SBU) In the reactor building, the delegation observed the exposed reactor vessel, with the vessel head and shielding stacked in sections on the refueling deck. The delegation observed the empty spent fuel pool adjacent to the reactor, and the spent fuel and proposed fuel storage area located behind the spent fuel pool. NRC experts noted that walks though the top level of the turbine building and the refueling floor level of the reactor building revealed some poor housekeeping practices and some industrial safety concerns, including the lack of safety glasses on staff. It was unclear whether there was any requirement for wearing safety glasses. In the simulator, the delegation observed several demonstrations at the fully functioning simulator, including NRC,s request for simulation of a large break loss of coolant accident (LOCA) with common mode failure of all four safety divisions, digital instruments and controls. -------------- WORKING GROUPS HIGHLIGHTS -------------- ¶21. (U) The AIT-TECRO JSCCNC meetings included meetings by three working groups. Working Group I addressed &Matters Pertaining to Reactor Regulation and Regulatory Research8 and was chaired by William Ruland, Director of the Division of Safety Systems in NRC,s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and Yi-Bin Chen, Director of the AEC,s Department of Nuclear Regulation. AIT briefed TECRO on the U.S. national source tracking system, gas accumulation management, BWR sump strainer blockage issues, and the regulatory decision-making process for license renewal. TECRO gave a presentation on radiation sources management in Taiwan. During their discussions, AEC and NRC reiterated their commitment to support and pursue the renewal of AEC,s Cooperative Severe Accident Research Program (CSARP),which is expected to be completed and signed by AIT and TECRO in early 2010. In addition, NRC agreed to host an AEC assignee for eight months in the Office of New Reactors, to work on seismic design and siting criteria. AEC will provide NRC with the most updated Lungmen pre-op testing schedule, while both agencies work to coordinate a visit from NRC,s Office of New Reactor staff to the Lungmen NPP, probably in late spring or early summer of 2010, with the purpose of observing the testing of the plant,s simulator. ¶22. (U) NRC agreed to provide to the AEC a copy of its &National Report8 as is required by parties to the Convention of Nuclear Safety. The AEC promised to provide its equivalent report to NRC in October 2010 for comments. NRC invited two trainees from AEC to participate in a five-week training program on BWR simulator and technology review, and reactor safety, followed by a week of inspection activity and technical exchange with Region II and tour of the Watts Bar facility. In the area of digital instrumentation and control, the agencies will be planning a workshop for April 2010. Another area of cooperation between AEC and NRC is fire protection, where a workshop is currently scheduled for March 2010. Finally, NRC agreed to provide AEC with information on void criteria associated with gas accumulation in Emergency Core Cooling Systems, and information and lessons learned regarding international collaboration on sump issues. There will be a follow-up between the two agencies regarding the National Source Tracking System (NSTS) exchange. They anticipate holding their next bilateral exchange in May 2010. ¶23. (U) Working Group II handled &Matters Pertaining to Waste Management and Environmental Restoration8. The Chairs of this group were Hong-Nian Jow, from SNL,s Global Security Engagement & International Safeguards program, and Ching-Tsuen Huang, Director General of the FCMA. Presentations on the design of an information management system for a spent fuel interim dry storage facility, the status of radiation waste management in the U.S., the Yucca Mountain project, and the status of commercial low level waste disposal in the U.S., were provided in this working group. The FCMA agreed to prepare, issue, and send in mid-2010 the second version of a draft report equivalent to a &National Report8 under the Joint convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel and the Safety of Radioactive Waste to the U.S. DOE for peer review. FMCA will also send to NRC, during the first half of 2010, the proposal for a workshop on the &Transport and disposal practices of irregular waste forms8. ¶24. (U) Working Group III dealt with the topic of &Advanced Nuclear Technology8. This group was chaired by Elizabeth Lisann, Team Leader of DOE,s Office of Nuclear Energy, and Taun-Ran Yeh, Director General of INER. The topics discussed included health physics, technical safety support, radioisotope production, and applications and safeguarding of nuclear materials. In addition, NNSA presented Taiwan with the possibility of jointly developing two training courses: the first, a Radiation Emergency Assistance Training course to familiarize medical responders and hospital personnel with the treatment of radiation injuries; and the second, the International Radiological Assistance Program Training for Emergency Response on search and identification techniques in response to radiological incidents. The training courses would be presented simultaneously during the second or third quarter of 2010. TECRO also received an update on the status of nondestructive waste assay (NDA) measurements for the Spent Fuel Stabilization Project at INER,s Taiwan Research Reactor (TRR). TECRO thanked AIT for resolving difficulties in acquiring US radiation shielding software. Taiwan expressed interest in developing cooperative activities in the area of health physics. AIT agreed to provide TECRO with contact information for the appropriate coordinator for radioisotope productions and applications. -------------- POINTS OF CONTACT -------------- ¶25. (U) Department thanks AIT/T and AIT/K for their assistance in organizing the JSCCNC meeting. Main point of contact in AIT/T is John W. Hicks (HicksJW2@state.gov, 886-2-2162-2000 x2013). Points of contact in the Department are Dr. Alex R. Burkart (BurkartAR@state.gov, 202-647-2950) and Dr. Zaira Nazario (NazarioZD@state.gov, 202-647-8229). SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED CLINTON