South Korean Power Shutdowns Caused by Uncertified Nuclear Parts

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The use of uncertified parts in two South Korean nuclear facilites has caused the power plants to be shut down for two months for unscheduled maintenance.

The parts had been sourced from eight suppliers since 2003. They included fuses, cooling fans and power switches that were not covered by the required nuclear certificates, although the parts could have been used in other industries. It was reported that 95% of the parts were produced in the U.S. and Europe.

The country's Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo said that the parts were "non-core," and that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company Limited (KHNP) (Seoul) was planning to replace the unverified parts as soon as possible. He added that even if they caused problems, they would not cause nuclear leakage or accidents. KHNP said that suppliers had forged 60 certificates to cover 7,682 items between 2003 and 2012.

The two reactors to be shut down in the county of Yeonggwang, which is about 300 kilometers southwest of Seoul, until the end of 2012. By that time, all the suspect parts should be replaced. The uncertified parts are worth about $750,000 and will cause the shutdown of the two reactors. Three other reactors, which are also affected, do not require a full shutdown.

The shutdown is expected to cause unavoidable and unprecedented power shortages in the winter months, and the power supply authorities are planning to execute complex, super-high supply measures from mid-November to mitigate the loss to the grid supply of the two 950-megawatt power plants.

South Korea's 23 nuclear reactors supply 35% of the country's electrical power and have been experiencing a series of malfunctions over the past few months. The latest incident and grid supply problems it has caused will strengthen South Korea's anti-nuclear lobby, which operate in the post-Fukushima climate of opinion.

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