Another Korean reactor cleared for restart

Thursday, 27 June 2013

Approval to restart Wolsong unit 2 will further ease concerns of power shortages in South Korea over the coming months. However, several of the country's power reactors remain offline for maintenance.

The four-unit Wolsong plant (Image: Konicof)

Plant operator Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) shut down Wolsong 2 unit for scheduled maintenance and refuelling in late April.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) announced on 25 June that it had approved the restart of the 700 MWe pressurized heavy water reactor. The reactor was restarted yesterday and is expected to reach full generating capacity on 28 June.

The restart comes as South Korea faces potential power shortages, primarily due to the enforced shut down of three reactors while several others are shut for maintenance.

Last month, an NSSC investigation found that safety-related control cabling with forged documentation had been installed at four of KHNP's reactors: Shin Kori units 1 and 2 and Shin Wolsong units 1 and 2.

KHNP was ordered to stop operations at Shin Kori 2 and Shin Wolsong 1, while Shin Kori 1 - which had been offline for scheduled maintenance - must remain out of operation. In addition, the newly-constructed Shin Wolsong 2, which is awaiting approval to start commercial operation, will not be permitted to start up.

The NSSC told KHNP that the four units will not be allowed to operate until the cabling has been replaced. This was expected to take about four months over summer.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News