The North Koreans are reportedly planning to вЂremodelвЂ™ one of their ships to bring in the nuclear waste. But Taiwan possesses only smaller 800-tonne vessels and North Korea has no special vessels at all. International regulations specify that nuclear waste should be transported in a special 2,000-tonne vessel lined with a concrete wall for protection in case of collision at sea. Shipping the waste is another cause for concern. But the quantities of nuclear waste being handled were relatively small. Taipower, which is exporting the waste, responds to such concerns by stating that North Korea вЂhas had ten yearsвЂ™ experience of managing small-sized nuclear power plants and dealing with nuclear wastes.вЂ™ North Korea does have atomic experience in that it ran two nuclear reactors from October 1987 to May 1994. ItвЂ™s not hard to imagine the likely effect on the health of local people. Furthermore, the mine has an underground lake, increasing the chances of nuclear containers corroding and of radioactive materials such as caesium and tritium seeping into the surrounding area. Pyungsan is hardly suited to the purpose: the area is geologically unstable and earthquake-prone. TaiwanвЂ™s radioactive waste is now destined to be buried in a disused coalmine at Pyungsan in Hwanghaedo, North Korea. In the end, the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) promised to вЂclear the island of its nuclear wastes by the year 2002вЂ™. Residents reported high rates of leukaemia and cancer due to radioactive leaks. In 1982 the Government deceived its people and constructed a nuclear-waste facility in Orchid Island. The country has been managing six nuclear power plants since 1978. Besides, it would take between five and ten years to build proper nuclear waste treatment facilities.ДЇor the Taiwanese authorities, exporting the waste means ridding itself of a major domestic headache. Meeting environmental safety requirements for nuclear disposal is unlikely to be a top spending priority for the Government. UNICEF estimates that 38 per cent of North Korean under-five-year-olds are currently suffering from malnutrition вЂ“ thatвЂ™s 800,000 hungry children вЂ“ following failed harvests. North Korea will receive $1,500 per barrel as well as funds for site preparation and shipping if North Korean ships are used. The shipment will take place over the next two years, with an option for 140,000 more barrels later. ItвЂ™s a massive consignment of nuclear waste вЂ“ 60,000 barrels of the stuff вЂ“ from the countryвЂ™s traditional foe, Taiwan. But itвЂ™s not exactly food they are bringing into the country. While North Koreans face near-famine conditions their rulers have been negotiating a significant import deal.

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