Of course I am talking about the nuclear dump. Do you think travellers should be going there? My trust that Taipower and the CKS government have done the right thing is low, and what I have been reading on the subject worries me even more.
I have to go there soon and, being the seriously health conscious person I am, am having reservations. Can I trust the food I eat? Can I trust that I am not camped or hiking near a secret dumpsite? Officially everything is on the southern end at the bottom of a cliff, but again, why would I trust the government here? Is there anywhere else in the world you would willingly put yourself within a few kilometres of 100,000 barrels of radioactive waste?
Any thoughts? Have you been? Would you go (again)? Do you worry about exposure to radiation either directly or through food or water?
I just asked my Orchid Island, Ya Mei Tribe wife. She said, “Of course not, not safe”.
From the horse’s mouth.
Peace, Mark/Orchid Island name, Shang Ji Ra Wa Dan
A geiger counter can not be too expensive too buy if you want to be sure.
What are the odds? Are you sure that Mucha is safer - cleaner than Lanyu?
Go for it, but do not live there I would say.
okay i will ask tomorrow. the technicians walk around wearing a badge, and i think every month they send the badge somewhere for testing to see how much radioactivity he/she was exposed to. maybe i could score one for you to wear, i can try but don’t get your hopes up.
okay radar, you can come, i think MM would like an audience, hahah!
[quote=“ratbrain”]okay i will ask tomorrow. the technicians walk around wearing a badge, and i think every month they send the badge somewhere for testing to see how much radioactivity he/she was exposed to. maybe i could score one for you to wear, i can try but don’t get your hopes up.
okay radar, you can come, i think MM would like an audience, hahah![/quote]
Thanks for the first part, :raspberry: for the second.
ratlung and I had a discussion with one of the doctors, and he thinks that for a weekend trip it would be fine. He said he wouldn’t take his kids there, though. The nuclear waste is in ash form, and the ash was mixed with concrete so it is a block of concrete. The ash/block of concrete is in a container, and the container is in the huge concrete trench. It seems that the blocks of concrete inside the containers are cracking, and that there is talk to go in and fix it up. The set-up holds up okay, it is just when it rains it might dissolve some of the ash and it could leak out. I wouldn’t head directly over to the dump site and camp out there, if you are on the other end of the island you should be fine. The radiation expose in general would be very low, but I would never want to live there.
I hope this helps, let me know if you have more questions.
ratlung and I had a discussion with one of the doctors, and he thinks that for a weekend trip it would be fine. He said he wouldn’t take his kids there, though. The nuclear waste is in ash form, and the ash was mixed with concrete so it is a block of concrete. The ash/block of concrete is in a container, and the container is in the huge concrete trench. It seems that the blocks of concrete inside the containers are cracking, and that there is talk to go in and fix it up. The set-up holds up okay, it is just when it rains it might dissolve some of the ash and it could leak out. I wouldn’t head directly over to the dump site and camp out there, if you are on the other end of the island you should be fine. The radiation expose in general would be very low, but I would never want to live there.
I hope this helps, let me know if you have more questions.[/quote]
You’re a gem, thank you. So it seems that, on the one hand, even if you were exposed to radiation from the bunker it would be very low over a two day period. Perhaps nothing worse than getting an x-ray? Is this a sound comparison?
On the other hand, I’m not very happy with the fact that the doctor wouldn’t take a child there, and that rain can cause the ash to leak. Does that mean ocean fish may be ingesting radioactive ash? Nasty.
Can you ask one more question? The assessment is assuming that the waste is all buried where taipower says it is. If by chance some was buried elsewhere on the island (as some environmental groups claim) could it affect ground water and hence and food people would eat there? Would this be extremely dangerous to eat, or only pose a minor risk?
Yes, we (ratlung and I) agree that the radiation exposure would be even less than getting an xray. as for the possible leakage, although it might leak out of the container, i think it is all contained within the big huge concrete trench.
As for eating and drinking, I think it would all (hopefully) be pooed and peed out. If you are really worried then just drink bottled water and instant noodles. I would say if there were any huge health hazards wouldn’t we be hearing about it? I think 20 years is plenty of time for cancer and stuff to start showing up. if you see 2 headed people, maybe book the next flight home. Anyways, we think it is okay, a weekend’s worth of food consumption is not much.
I forgot to ask about the possibility of multiple disposal sites. I can ask him again on monday. It was no problem to ask, he was very knowledgeable about the situation and I had never realized all that waste was dumped there. I looked up Lanyu in the LP and the story is very interesting, albeit shocking.
MM, did you ever learn any more about this issue? I’m thinking of taking the family there for a weekend. I hadn’t even thought of this issue (shows you how buried I am in work), just thought about seeing an island I haven’t seen yet.
It’s really too bad about Lanyu. Every time I read about it, I think it sounds like the place I would most like to visit in Taiwan. On more than one occasion I have written down Lanyu as a “must visit” before we leave, only to reread or remember that bit about it being a nuclear waste dump. What a waste of a great potential tourist draw.
Talked with the rats about it several times but what they say above is pretty much as clear an answer as we can expect to get. Should be safe, but maybe don’t take the kids there.