S. Korea idles 2 nuke plants after cable tests faked
Source: Agencies |
May 29, 2013, Wednesday
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SOUTH Korea has idled two nuclear power plants after finding that test results for crucial control cables were falsified in a new blow to an industry mired in a graft scandal and safety lapses.
South Korea's trade and energy ministry said yesterday a company contracted to conduct tests fabricated the results for cables that failed to meet international standards for capacity to withstand changes in voltage and pressure. It warned that the plant shutdowns would result in summer power shortages.
The cables control valves that are responsible for cooling nuclear fuel or preventing the release of radioactive materials during an emergency.
Another four nuclear reactors that were either shut down for scheduled maintenance or under construction were also using cables that failed the tests.
"If these control cables do not operate well during an emergency, we viewed that it would not guarantee to cool nuclear fuels or to shut off radioactive materials," South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said in a statement.
It said the cables, which were in use since December 2011, failed nine of 12 tests pertinent to their operation in a "loss of coolant accident."
Han Jinhyun, vice trade and energy minister, declined to name the company while the government's investigation is ongoing. The ministry will sue the company and also ask prosecutors to launch a probe, he told a press conference.
The revelations add to public worries about nuclear safety and power shortages during the summer when demand is at its peak. With the shutdown of the two reactors to replace cables, a total of 10 nuclear plants are now offline.
Han said it would take around four months to replace the cables and warned "unprecedented power shortages" are expected in coming months.
"There is no means to increase power supply in the short term, so we expect we need to lower demand considerably to weather the crisis," he said.
Last year, the South Korean nuclear industry was rocked by revelations that thousands of components used in nuclear plants had falsified quality certificates. Dozens of employees at the state owned nuclear power plant operator, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co, were prosecuted for taking bribes from contractors to accept substandard parts and machinery.
South Korea has 23 nuclear power plants which supply about 30 percent of its energy and plans to add another 11 reactors by 2025.
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