Nuclear Safety Inspection

A panoramic view of Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant in Jeollanam-do, South Korea.
A panoramic view of Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant in Jeollanam-do, South Korea.

 

The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) is performing a safety inspection of Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant from Nov. 13 to 27. The inspection team consisting of engineers from the 26 countries including Great Britain, Japan, and China are going to check its engineering, maintenance, system operations, and the like during the period.

The WANO, which represents the industry with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was set up in 1989 in order to enhance the safety and reliability of atomic power generation in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster.

Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 was shut down after a steam generator tube malfunctioned on Oct. 17. The tube transmits heat to a steam generator and its cracking and the subsequent coolant leakage could lead to radioactive contamination in the external air and water.

The unit is a one million kilowatt pressurized water reactor. Its penetration pipe cracked in November 2012 and a transformer broke down in December last year, six months from the start of the resumption of the operation. “The upcoming safety inspection is not because of the shutdown but a regular inspection,” a worker in the power station explained.

In the meantime, it has been found that its balloon for checking radioactivity diffusion flew 28 km in one hour. A local civic organization announced on Nov. 12 that the balloon, which was set afloat at the power plant on Oct. 20, was recently found in Boan-myeon of Buan County, North Jeolla Province. “This shows that even the safety of Gwangju Metropolitan City, which is 35 km away from the power station, could be compromised in the event of an emergency,” it said.

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