By Park Si-soo
Mechanical problems caused the No. 2 reactor at the Uljin nuclear power plant to shut down at 2:45 a.m. Sunday. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) said there was no danger of a radiation leak at the plant in South Gyeongsang Province, but the incident has further shaken public trust in nuclear power plants.
The KHNP is investigating the cause of the stoppage ㅡ problems related to its turbine controller are suspected, but it will take several days before the result of the investigation are announced.
``It was confirmed that there was no radiation leak from the reactor,” a KHNP official said. ``We will confirm the exact cause of the incident and take appropriate measures.”
The reactor went into operation in September 1989. The Uljin plant has six reactors, two of which, excluding the second reactor, have only stopped operation due to regular safety checks.
The incident occurred nearly three weeks after reactors at two separate nuclear power plants stopped working on Oct. 2.
The Shingori 1 Reactor in Busan shut down due to a malfunction in the rods controlling the fission of nuclear material, while the Younggwang 5 Reactor in Younggwang, South Jeolla Province, stopped after its steam generator showed a low water level.
In September, the country’s second-oldest Wolsong-1 reactor in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, stopped operations due to problems related to power equipment linked to the reactor.
Problems at reactors are fueling public fears over their safety, already heightened by the disaster in Japan in early 2011 after an earthquake and tsunami hit an atomic power plant. Many environmentalists and politicians have staged rallies demanding the country become less dependent on nuclear power.
Korea operates 23 nuclear reactors, supplying about 30 percent of its total electricity needs. It plans to build an additional 16 reactors by 2030.