Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) A nuclear emergency exercise was held Thursday at Taiwan's second nuclear power plant in New Taipei City as part of an annual disaster prevention and rescue drill held nationwide.
The exercise in the city's Wanli District involved members of the National Airborne Service Corps and staff at the nuclear plant, according to the Atomic Energy Council (AEC).
The exercise was held to simulate the plant's emergency response in the event an offshore earthquake triggers a series of internal malfunctions at the plant.
The scenario included an airborne helicopter to transport rescue teams to the site assuming roads leading to and from the plant are damaged by the earthquake.
In the worst-case scenario of a total power outage at the plant, technicians would use a backup power source to restore power while injecting seawater to prevent a meltdown of the nuclear core.
According to the Atomic Energy Council (AEC), the drill on Thursday was held to test the plant's emergency response capabilities.
This year, more than 10,000 people, including government staffers and local residents, will be mobilized to participate in the drill, which is set to run until Sept. 23, it said.
The drill is designed to test improvements made to the nation's nuclear safety mechanisms and strengthen cooperation between emergency rescue teams in New Taipei and Keelung.
